The Castle on the Sea
by Lilynris
Summary: Where is Larkani? Celiath, a 15-year old Neopian healer-in-training, doesn't know. She's never heard of it before. But that's where she is, and she has to get home. Now finished!
1. Celiath

Author's Note: This story was inspired by my Neopets guild. Since it's the easiest thing I've ever written, and I hope that it's decent, I'm publishing it here. I might also send it to the NT.  
  
About NeoQuest II: The game does have an unoriginal title, but I made up just about everything about the game. I made it up in order to solve the problem of blabbing all about the later stages of NQ in the stories that I want to send to the Neopian Times, like this one.  
  
To everyone in my guild and especially Elorien, Memento_Ring and Mitsue Mikage, thank you for giving me this idea and for letting me test out the kingdoms in this story on you before this. It really helped me get my bearings. Reviews are not required, but I do like them.  
  
And as for the mandatory disclaimer: I do not own Neopets. However, I do own the rest of it, especially Larkani, Cairhel, Lurya, and all the members of the Mianre'll family.

Celiath, a rainbow Zafara, gazed at the computer, which displayed her current position in NeoQuest II. She moved her mouse to the arrow on the screen pointing up and clicked it. 

"You have been attacked by Irefen," she read, a smile covering her face. The end of her game of NeoQuest II was getting closer. Celiath could feel her heart beating as she scrolled down past the picture of the Ixi-like undead Queen. "Irefen glares at you for a moment, her red gaze boring into you. She growls and attacks." She then clicked on the button that read, "Click here to start the fight!"

The usual fight screen popped up, with the faerie Aisha that represented Celiath opposite the image of Irefen. Celiath flipped through the notes she had taken on NeoQuest until she came to a specific part of Rimor's speech. "It seems such a long time ago," the Zafara murmured to herself, brushing back some strands of brown hair that had escaped from her bun. She took the two blue sticks that were covered with silver sparkles out of the bun and unwrapped her scrunchie, causing her hair to fall down her back in waves. 

She peered at the words that the god had spoken, and Celiath went over the rest of the story that she had been through in her head. First, she remembered the character's exile from her home city, something that had never made sense even now she knew that the kingdom of Caeridyl was in trouble. She had gone east to a town where a healer had given her a magic scroll. _Now that's weird. What's a village healer like Aradwel doing with a scroll in an ancient language that summons a god?_

Celiath thought about motivations a lot in her studies at the Water Faerie's school in Faerieland. She was studying to become an accredited healer, and her duties at the hospital intrigued her in that manner. The types of injuries she saw often made Celiath speculate exactly how that person was injured in such a manner. She sometimes created whole lives for that person based on that one injury. The Water Faerie discouraged such imaginings, but Celiath found that was simply the way her mind worked. 

She flipped through the old notes and found conversations concerning the scroll, mostly from the enchanter Kystas. At least that made a little bit of sense, in an odd way. He needed his wand to open the scroll, so Celiath had to kill Duke Alenem for it. He had to have it translated, so she had to go to Rimor's Temple and get the translation from the priestess Saemine. Then since Nique knew what to do with it, Celiath had to go visit her in the town of Brearis.

Celiath skimmed the rest of the notes and caught a few things from Brearis, Lianor Cave, and the kingdom of Mienta. _The game is more mysterious than I could ever believe_, she thought, running over all the characters and the ways that their lives intertwined. If Celiath had been a good writer, she would have loved to enter the ancient world of NeoQuest II and expand upon the story. 

There was the piece she was looking for. "Rimor speaks," she muttered, her quiet voice echoing through the empty room eerily. 

_What should I do with the elemental crown? _Celiath had written. She read Rimor's response and stopped at the relevant part: _If you show her the elemental crown, it might persuade Irefen to tell you about the people who destroyed Lemirka and will destroy Caeridyl. She is very angry with everyone from your kingdom, though, so she might kill you instead._

Celiath smiled, remembering how the game had been much more fun after she discovered the secret of the scroll. The monsters were more fun to kill than they had been before, and the game did not seem to drag on as much. An end was in sight.

She focused back on the fight screen and noted Irefen's hit points and level, then looked at her usual options. There was something new: _Use the elemental crown. _Celiath clicked there.

When the new screen came up, Celiath raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Wow. That was quick."

"NeoQuest II again?" a familiar voice asked. Celiath whirled around and saw her younger sister Kimtaya descending the stairs. The red Acara had caramel-colored hair that fell about to her shoulders and green-gray eyes with a worried look in them. She was still dressed in the jean skirt and white peasant blouse she had worn to school, unlike Celiath who wore a Faerieland University sweatshirt over her pajamas. 

Celiath smiled. "Yep. I can tell I'm getting closer to the end of the game."

"Cool," Kimtaya said without much emotion. She had started playing the original game, but had gotten tired of it early on when her character kept dying. "Have you seen my history project, by any chance? It was in my room one moment, and now it's gone."

"I don't know where it would be. Wouldn't that big posterboard about the Seven Lost Cities of Neopia be easy to notice, though?" Celiath narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Seriously, I have no clue where it is." Kimtaya moved into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Then she turned back to Celiath. "I'm not looking for it in here, by the way, " Kimtaya quickly explained her intentions as she took out a gallon of Kau Kau Farm milk, then took a glass from the cupboard and poured the milk into it. "Want one?"

"Yes, please," Celiath said with a smile. She turned back to the computer screen and looked at the experience bar at the top of the screen. "Yes! I gained a level!" She then read over Irefen's defeat, uncapped her dark blue pen, and wrote down her defeat sequence and the two items she had received: a healing potion and the key to the gate of Erala. "I guess I'll have to add it to my sketch of the Neoquester's keyring," Celiath said with a smile. "Thanks, Kimtaya." 

"You're welcome." Kimtaya placed the glass of milk on the computer table. "Well, I've got to get back to my homework. I've got an algebra test tomorrow."

"See you, Kimtaya. Good luck finding your project." That was something Celiath really hoped for. She knew Kimtaya had been working on the project every night, researching the legend of the Seven Cities and putting the presentation together. It was an interesting legend and Celiath thought it would be the best presentation in the class, since other people would probably be selecting easier subjects than seven cities that might not exist.

"Thanks." 

Celiath could hear her sister ascending the stairs. She sipped the milk and gazed back at the computer screen, then clicked back onto the regular map of Al Mikai. After using the skill point she had gained, Celiath clicked under the navigation compass to speak to Irefen.

She read the introduction and then clicked on a question: "Who is Mostanio?" Celiath then answered, "The evil one. It's going to be over soon!"

Then Celiath read and wrote down Irefen's response, a long one. _"…Mostanio was the King of Caeridyl's most trusted advisor, and unfortunately I let him into my confidence as well. He was turning Caeridyl against Lemirka and at the same time turning Lemirka in on itself. I had advisors who saw through Mostanio's doings, but I fell under the spell. I eventually saw what was happening, and we fought them, but they were too powerful. Mostanio eventually…"_

"Celiath?"

__

Someone else was descending the stairs. Celiath turned around and saw her owner Crescent. 

"Sorry to disturb you, but would you mind helping Kimtaya look for her history project? I'd ask one of the others, but Stelakar disappeared and Elenqui is in the middle of some stuff."

Celiath capped her pen and sighed. "No problem, Crescent."

"You can go back to the game if you don't find it," Crescent said, looking a little unhappy. 

A tiny smile spread across Celiath's face. "I'll never be able to get away from the computer if I don't stop playing now. NeoQuest II can just be so addictive, especially since I'm getting near the end." She drank down the rest of her milk and then washed out the glass, putting it in the dishwasher.

"Don't forget these," Crescent said, handing Celiath her pages of notes. "I wouldn't want you to lose them." Then Crescent looked at the sketch of the keyring, which was on top. "Is this from the game?"

Celiath nodded. "There are a bunch of keys that you pick up along the way. Actually, I just got the last one now, so I'll need to update the drawing."

"Cool," Crescent said in the same blank way that Kimtaya had said it. 

"Well, good night, Crescent," Celiath said, taking the notes and the drawing of the keyring and walking toward the stairs. 

"'Night, Celiath," she heard while halfway up them. The rainbow Zafara continued climbing up the stairs and paused on the top one. She saw the doors that led to the bedrooms on this level, as well as the staircase that led to the attic. 

_Maybe it's in the attic, _she thought. _Maybe. I remember Crescent and Kimtaya were getting some things there for the project. In that case, it's possible that one of them took the poster up there and left it there, and then forgot it. _Celiath turned around and walked up the stairs to the attic. 

She opened the door, which closed on its own behind her, and flipped the light switch on. A chandelier illuminated the attic. Celiath did not immediately see Kimtaya's project, but this attic contained many things. She looked around for a place to put her notes from NeoQuest II and placed them on top of a box that was marked "Books – Kougra's Room." The books belonged to her youngest sister Elenqui, but she found them boring now. 

The attic, while not as musty as some, certainly could be improved on. Right now, Crescent was using the attic mostly as storage space for things that the family did not keep in the main parts of the house. Usually Crescent accompanied the pets up to the attic, since she kept magical objects inside the boxes that she did not want them handling. Celiath was learning about some of these objects from the Water Faerie in her studies as a healer. "The boxes probably contain some of the old magical weapons that can look like very ordinary objects," she said to herself. Suddenly, Celiath was reminded of the Kandrians of NeoQuest, who were mentioned only in passing. If there was any truth to the game, the artifacts Crescent and the Water Faerie talked about were probably made by wizards like the Kandrians who had lived a long time ago. 

Celiath smiled. _Here I go, _she thought. _This is the sign that I am officially obsessed with NeoQuest II: I am seeing the game everywhere. _She pushed a box aside at a flash of white that she saw, hoping it might be Kimtaya's poster. But it wasn't the poster; it was too bright. In fact, it looked like a key.

This key was a silvery-white color that was about the same size as Kimtaya's poster and would fit no keyhole that Celiath had ever seen before. Celiath picked up the key, which was rather light for something of its size, and noticed engraved markings on it that were in a different language. _It's so odd, _Celiath thought. _It would fit no keyhole that I have ever seen. Where did Crescent get this? _

Then Celiath glanced at her sketch of the keyring. Nine keys glittered on it. Celiath had found no clues about what the tenth key looked like. Perhaps it looked something like this. And it would have an inscription on it, just like this one did. The letters might be foreign because Irefen had written it, and the Lemirkan language would be different…

Celiath shook her head. It was nonsense. She was only getting obsessed with the game. She had come here to find Kimtaya's history project. With a sigh, Celiath turned to pick up the notes with her other hand and then faced the wall again. Something about it looked completely different now that the key was gone. The wall behind the key was visible, and it had a rather strange appearance, like this was another place. At the same time, it was still familiar. Celiath knew that this was her attic, with all those strange magical objects that Crescent liked to collect. She was still looking for Kimtaya's history project. 

_Just déjà vu,_ Celiath decided. Someone was shouting something, but she ignored it. The voice got closer, and Celiath listened closely. "Tikanie!"

Who was Tikanie? Celiath had never heard that name before. Crescent was probably just trying to find Elenqui. 

"Tikanie? I know you enjoy your books, but I need to take you to the marketplace. There's someone I want you to meet there…Tikanie?" 

Celiath turned around and saw a tall blue Shoyru in a plain but elegant green dress. She had glossy brown hair pulled back into a bun that was even more severe than Celiath's. Heavy square glasses covered her brown eyes and obscured her small, thin nose. A tiny mouth pinched itself in an expression of disapproval. She stood at the bottom of a flight of stairs.

"Who are you?" the Shoyru asked in a high, snobbish voice.

"Who are you?" Celiath echoed, looking around the room. 

"Don't talk back to me like that!" the Shoyru trilled. Celiath, startled, dropped the key she was holding. The Shoyru did not seem to see the key, though. In fact, as Celiath glanced down at the ground where she had dropped it, she noticed it had disappeared. 

_That is not good! _Celiath thought. _It's probably back in the attic. Now how am I going to get back? Maybe Crescent knows more about that key, but how are they going to find out where I went? _

"Faerieland University," she read, pinching her lips even more. "Where is that?" Her voice took on a sharper tone. "And answer my question! Who are you?"

"My name…" Celiath sighed, trying to expel some of her fear. "I am Celiath." 

"Celiath _what_?" the Shoyru asked, her voice sharpening even further. 

Celiath raised her eyebrows slightly in confusion. Some people she knew had second names like this, but Celiath did not remember hers. All the information she was learning from the Water Faerie had squeezed it out. She remembered her twin Stelakar's second name and reasoned theirs was probably the same. "Celiath…Mianre'll."

"Mianre'll." The Shoyru lowered her own eyebrows and paced around the room, as if she was thinking. Nervous, Celiath kept her eyes on the Shoyru, who spun around and glared at her. "How did you get here?"

Celiath did not want to mention the key. "Some sort of magic."

"Magic," the Shoyru muttered like it was a curse. "The Yin Kador meddle in all our lives with their experiments. No wonder you are from so far away; they must have snatched you away from your home in Lurya with their foolish experiments."

Celiath considered asking where Lurya was, but decided not to. What had made this Shoyru believe that her home was a place called Lurya? And who were the Yin Kador? She glanced around and saw the blank wall that looked just like her attic. The other walls had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves built on them, and the only exit was a staircase leading up. _But I'm in an attic! Why does this look like a basement? _

"Well," the Shoyru said, "perhaps we can find some help for you in the marketplace. The servants will show you to Tikanie's bedroom, where you can change into some more…presentable…clothing." She turned around and began to take the stairs one at a time. Celiath followed her up them. There were perhaps six stairs going up before they turned to the left and continued to ascend. Celiath and the Shoyru then emerged into what looked like the foyer of the house. 

"Damreith!" the Shoyru called. 

A blue Kougra in well-made clothes that were beginning to fray appeared from another part of the house. "Yes, Lady?"

"Please show Celiath to Tikanie's room." She presented Celiath with a disapproving grimace on her face. "Then when she has changed into some presentable clothes, send her down here."

"Of course, Lady. Right this way." Damreith walked up another flight of stairs and gestured for Celiath to follow. She watched the Shoyru walk through an archway as she followed Damreith up the stairs. As soon as the Shoyru had disappeared, Damreith asked Celiath, "Where do you come from?"

"Another place…" Celiath looked around. "Where am I?"

"This is the city of Thora Mountain in the kingdom of Larkani…" Seeing the confusion on Celiath's face, he said, "But you don't know what that means, do you? Since you're from Lurya…"

"Where's Lurya?"

Damreith looked around. "Maybe…we should discuss this upstairs?"

"Okay," Celiath said slowly, trying to control the surprised look on her face and not succeeding. She followed the blue Kougra upstairs, figuring that he was a servant. Briata was probably a noble lady, or at least someone with money and airs. It made her think of old Meridell, but it didn't have the look she had imagined. Besides, Meridell had always been Meridell. There wasn't any Larkani or Lurya. 

Damreith opened the door of a large room and gestured to Celiath to sit on the bed. She looked at it and gaped for a moment at the gigantic, four-poster bed that was in the room. _Well, nobles have these kinds of things, I guess…_She gently pulled the white veils around the bed apart, somewhat frightened that they might break, and sat down. Surprise showed on Celiath's face for a moment at how soft the mattress was before she looked at the room. Lavender, white, and yellow were the dominant colors here, except for the light maple wood wardrobe and vanity table.

"So…you don't seem to have any idea where you are or what any of the landmarks are." Celiath tried not to laugh at the confused look on Damreith's face, a lot like her own.

"No. I got sent here by magic."

"Lady!" Celiath opened her mouth to protest at that, but Damreith continued. "Do not speak of magic here if you value your life!"

"Is it that bad?" Damreith only answered with a shudder. "Oh, and I'm not a lady…but if I was, wouldn't I be allowed to mention it?"

"Lady, it might be accepted where you come from…but not here." 

"Well, why?"

Damreith lowered his voice. "They say they're trying to take over the kingdom."

"Who?" Then Celiath remembered something Briata had said about magic. "The Yin Kador?"

"_Never say that._" Damreith's firm tone shocked Celiath. "_And don't ask why. Not here. _There might be another place where it's safe, but not here."

"So…" Celiath couldn't think of anything else to say. They stayed silent for a moment. "Do you have any advice for me?"

"Yes. Since I assume you do want to keep your head or at least avoid torture, I'd get away from Briata in the marketplace and make your way to the river. It's pretty easy to find, and it's just north of a town. Get on a boat heading west, downriver, for Ral Mirean, the capital. Got that?"

"Ral Mirean."

"Good. You have to remember that. There's another island you actually have to get off at…" Damreith whispered the name. "Ista Kaderyi. That's where you actually get off, but you ask for passage on a boat to Ral Mirean. _They_ will help you. At least they should help you, if they have any goodness in their hearts at all. But I believe there's good in everyone's heart…" Damreith shook his head.

"In the meantime, go ahead and get dressed in Tikanie's clothes, and I'll give you a few coins and a pack to put those papers of yours in." 

"Okay…" Celiath said, starting to catch on. "Just curious, who's Tikanie?"

"Briata's daughter. She ran away last night. Anyway, I've got to go. There's always work to be done, and I should give you privacy anyway." Damreith opened the door and slipped through it, closing it behind him.


	2. Thora Mountain

__

Whoa. Celiath sat on the bed for a moment, stunned. This was not Neopia. This could not be anywhere in Neopia. _If I say the wrong thing I'm going to die? I probably won't even make it out of this city! I remember things were pretty bad in the Lost Desert, and probably Meridell too, but at least I knew the rules. Now I have no idea how to get home. But I think if I get the key back, find some sort of library that can transport me back, and wear these clothes, I can do it. _

What was the rest of the Mianre'll family going to do when they found out she was gone? When would they figure it out? It seemed to be mid-morning here, but Celiath had already gone through a day and whatever had taken her here had not helped her get used to the time of day. Or much of anything. _Crescent will flip out,_ Celiath predicted. _Elenqui will go hunting through every single unexplained entry in her dream journals that she's had for the last…five years, I think. Stelakar will probably try to go after me, and Kimtaya will be scared out of her wits. Everyone will be. I know I am! _Celiath turned to the vanity table and wardrobe, biting her tongue slightly. Since Tikanie had run away, she wouldn't be bursting in any minute and demanding to know who this stranger was, but still…

Celiath yawned. _This is so annoying. I lived through a day and I don't even get any sleep. As soon as I get on that boat headed for Ral Mirean…not Ista Kaderyi, Ral Mirean. Never mention Kaderyi or Yin Kador. I think I've got that._

There was a loud rap on the door, which Celiath answered. "Are you ready yet?" Briata demanded sharply. "Tikanie doesn't mind that you're going to be wearing her clothes or anything. Just put on a simple dress and do something with your hair…" she eyed Celiath's unbound hair with disapproval, "and we'll be off. I don't have all day." Briata slammed the door, not leaving any time for Celiath to protest.

She stood at the door for a moment before opening the wardrobe and drew out a dress of a strange shade of green-yellow, which was paired with an ivory-colored underskirt. Celiath took off her sweatshirt and then pulled the curtains of the large window shut. She changed into the dress and looked at herself in the mirror. Celiath was not used to wearing dresses of any sort, but this would do for a short period of time. 

Then Celiath remembered that she wore no shoes. She continued looking through the wardrobe until she found a pair made out of white leather and clapped them onto her feet. Tikanie must have had large feet, because Celiath's feet would never have fit inside the shoes. Her feet had been small when she was born a Gelert, but after Celiath had turned herself into a Zafara her feet had grown. 

Surveying her appearance, Celiath examined her hair in the vanity table. It was lucky for her that the women here seemed to style their hair the same way that she liked to. She ran her fingers through it and bound it into another bun using a hair tie she had found on the vanity table. It was perhaps a little looser than she would have liked, but it didn't matter. 

There was a knock on the door, and Celiath opened it quietly. "Thanks, Damreith." She took the pack quickly and put her things into it. 

Damreith nodded. "You're welcome. I also gave you a few coins that should pay for anything you need on your way to Ral Mirean. Also…" His face creased in an expression of curiosity. "What's your last name?"

"I am not certain, but I think it is Mianre'll."

His face developed a pensive expression similar to the one Briata had worn when Celiath had mentioned her name. "If anyone else asks, you are Celiath…Laitenla. That name is quite well known in Larkani and will give you connections. Remember that name, and do not use your old one. Foreigners attract a great deal of attention, and I do not think you wish to attract additional attention."

"How did you know I was a foreigner just from my name?" Celiath asked, wondering about this. Some names were endemic to certain parts of Neopia, but she had never heard of anything like this.

"Damreith!" Briata's voice trilled. 

"It appears as if it is time for us to go to the marketplace, and for you to make your escape." Damreith led the way down the stairs, and Celiath followed. She hoped that her clothes and her notes would not wrinkle too much, then smiled at herself in amusement. As a result of sorting through many out-of-order files for the Water Faerie, Celiath liked neatness and order in her life. She kept a fairly tidy room compared to her sisters Stelakar and Kimtaya and liked to sort things out into their correct manner. That had been why Celiath took such comprehensive notes about both versions of NeoQuest. 

This place, however, held none of the order that Celiath desired in her life. She had the name of a place: the city of Thora Mountain in a place called Larkani. Celiath also knew that the capital city, Ral Mirean, was on a nearby island. At least, she hoped it was nearby. There was also a place called Lurya, but that might have been another kingdom altogether. Briata had also mentioned the Yin Kador, who sounded like magic users of some sort. 

Celiath assumed she would learn more about this world after she had escaped from Briata, but she was a little edgy. It would seem that transportation like the sudden snap from her attic to the library in this house would only occur for a very specific reason. However, it was unclear why Celiath was in Larkani. It appeared that she was only replacing Tikanie, for some odd reason. Perhaps the Yin Kador in Ral Mirean would be able to help Celiath. What would happen if they could not, though? Was Celiath meant to stay in Larkani? And if so, why? 

Celiath glanced around at the Thora Mountain marketplace as she followed Briata. While the market in Neopia City could get rather crowded, it seemed as if everyone in this town was milling around the marketplace. People seemed to move out of the way for Briata, because she was nobility, but Celiath and Damreith had more difficulty getting through the marketplace. Though Celiath wore Tikanie's clothing, the residents of Thora Mountain could tell that she was not Tikanie and did not give her the same respect. 

A small smile grew on Celiath's face, then just as quickly fell into itself. It would not be as hard as she had thought to escape among a crowd like this. She slowed her pace a little bit, partially on purpose and partially because the shoes were beginning to pinch her feet. 

Briata glanced back. "Hurry up." She then turned back around and continued her stately walk through the marketplace. Celiath had some difficulty seeing the Shoyru, as several more people were coming in between them.

Damreith handed Celiath the pack. "Good luck, lady. To the river. Don't forget."

"Thank you," Celiath said to the servant. "Good luck to you too." She stopped walking, took the pack, and checked her surroundings. A fish seller's apprentice was directly in front of her clamoring for attention. Celiath spotted someone else sharpening a knife with a steely sound that made her shudder. She quickly turned away, eager to get away from the eerie sound of the knife scraping, and walked to her left. 

After a few steps, Celiath could tell that she was entering the part of the market where the vegetable sellers held their sales. She tried to walk faster, hoping that she wouldn't run into Briata anywhere. However, Celiath figured it would be fairly easy to blend into the crowd. 

Someone stepped on her left foot, and Celiath whirled around. However, since she was not used to the tight, high-heeled shoes, she stumbled and fell onto her right side. The pack she carried went flying into the crowd. _Oh no…_Celiath thought, quickly rising to her feet. She walked sideways toward one of the vegetable stands, where she had seen her pack. A Lupe in a black uniform who looked like a government guard of some sort was standing near the space that divided two stands. Celiath approached him. "Excuse me, sir, but have you seen a small brown pack anywhere in this area…"

Underneath his lined, even gaze, which did not change one bit, Celiath stopped. Her pack had no identifying marks on it, and there was probably nothing the Lupe could do to help her. Her clothes and notes were lost just as surely as if she had left them in Briata's home.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. Celiath turned carefully, since she did not want to trip again, and saw a tall purple Techo holding her pack. "Does this belong to you, miss?" he asked. Celiath noticed that the Techo had a slightly different accent. 

"Thank you, sir," Celiath said, taking the pack. "Would you happen to know the way to the river?"

"Of course, miss." He paused for a moment, as if trying to figure out how to direct her there. "The nearest exit to the marketplace is the way you were going. You will pass through some more vegetable stands and then past some woven goods before leaving the marketplace. Turn right then. The Rylrinmar River is not far away from there. Take a ferry to the other side, where you can get a boat to wherever your destination may be: Caenta, Gisend, Ral Mirean…" He gave her a searching look.

Celiath nodded. "Thank you." She then left in the way he had directed. The Techo had probably wanted to find out where she was going. Celiath had not wanted to tell him that she was bound for Ral Mirean, but her face might have given it away. Celiath had never heard of the other two cities, Caenta and Gisend, but she assumed they were also on the Rylrinmar River. In any case, their location did not concern her. 

_The names might be useful, _Celiath thought as she reached the exit from the marketplace. _I do need to create a story for myself, so I could claim that I am from Caenta. They discovered that I can heal others and the healers there taught me a little before sending me to Ral Mirean to complete my training. _Celiath did not know whether that would be realistic, but perhaps more people would be like Briata and not want to question anything concerning Yin Kador. _Then again, they might want to arrest me. Those names sound familiar, though. Caenta, Gisend, even Thora Mountain, Ral Mirean, and Larkani in a strange sort of way. But I've never heard them before._

Looking around for landmarks, Celiath turned to her right and noticed a row of buildings casting shadows onto the street she walked on. She spotted a pair of figures in those shadows, though they were hard to see. The sun betrayed gold coins in one shadowed paw. Celiath took a deep breath and walked on, hoping to reach the river soon. She placed each foot carefully on the street, not willing to risk another fall. The river did not look as close as the Techo had claimed. Celiath was glad she had not mentioned her destination to him.

A faint sound made Celiath look around, but then she kept walking. However, she continued to look all around her. _Maybe those two figures exchanging money…could it have anything to do with me? _Celiath wondered. It was impossible, though. No one could have noticed Celiath was there, and if they had, what would they want with her? 

Then she saw two people in the streets: an Aisha and a small Kyrii. Though the yellow Aisha had her red hair pulled back into a bun, her face held none of Briata's severity. "Excuse me," Celiath called to the Aisha. "Do you happen to know where the river is?"

"Of course!" the Aisha said. "I can guide you there."

"Thank you," Celiath said. She considered volunteering part of her story, but decided not to unless one of them asked. 

"Why don't you know where the river is?" the Kyrii asked. "We all do."

"Elsu, be quiet!" the Aisha scolded him. She turned to Celiath with a smile on her face. "Elsunor, or Elsu as he calls himself, is still rather young. I am Saemine Bettala, his mother."

"Saemine?" Celiath asked, shocked. Saemine was the priestess who translated the scroll in NeoQuest II! 

The Aisha nodded calmly.

Celiath took a deep breath and began her story. "I am from the town of Caenta," she explained, hoping Saemine and Elsu couldn't tell she was lying. "My name is Celiath. I left Caenta to train with the Yin Kador, but first I visited a relative here. That is why I am not familiar with this town, Elsu."

Saemine seemed to accept her explanation. "I see. You have one of their talents, I assume?" She began to walk up the street, in the direction Celiath had come from.

"I will be a healer," Celiath explained as she followed Saemine and looked around the street. Saemine passed the entrance to the marketplace and continued on the street. _That Techo must have misled me. He really was a shady character, _Celiath thought. 

Saemine smiled. "That will help you. Many people do not trust Yin Kador because of their gifts, but a healer is always welcomed. If you have other gifts, you may want to conceal them so that you may do more good with them."

Elsu smiled too. "I will be Yin Kador, like…Celi."

Celiath nodded to Saemine, glad for advice. She wondered a little bit about the lives of Saemine and Elsu. Saemine might have connections with one of the mysterious Yin Kador, or might even be one. Elsu might also have that gift, if it was considered a gift in Larkani. _I see a pattern. Saemine Bettala and Celiath Laitenla, _she thought. 

"Might we walk a bit faster?" Celiath asked, suddenly nervous. "I do want to get the next possible boat."

Saemine looked a little worried, but simply said, "All right," as she continued her path through the city. Celiath simply glanced around, trying to shake the feeling of a watcher. She somehow knew that Briata would want to find her, for whatever odd reason the Shoyru had. 

Elsu had none of his mother's restraint, though. "Why, Celi?"

Celiath was looking at a tall Eyrie in a black uniform who had posted a hastily written paper on a lamppost and then flew off to another destination. She shivered and went to examine the sign, hoping it did not involve her.

"Rainbow Zafara," Elsu read off of it, "by the name of Celiath Mianre'll…"

"Elsu!" Celiath shouted. The little Kyrii took on a hurt expression, and Celiath winced. "I am sorry, Elsu," she said in a more soothing tone. 

Saemine had come over and glanced at the sign. "I see," she said quietly. Her features had turned solemn. She stopped for a moment to pick up Elsu, who looked exhausted. Then, they headed along at a faster pace. The neighborhood seemed to change slightly as they continued on the street. Celiath sensed water nearby and managed to keep her aching muscles moving. _Why would Briata send the police after me? I would think she would be glad to get rid of me. _Celiath knew very little about the mystery of this place and how to leave it. Hopefully someone in Ral Mirean did. 

There was the river Rylrinmar, which ran rather quickly compared to the river that Celiath was familiar with in Neopia City. A small bridge crossed the river. Celiath wished she could try to familiarize herself with the scenery, but there was no time. "Thank you, Saemine," she said. 

Celiath hurried down the dock. "It looks like it's about to close," she said, taking off into a run out of desperation. She reached the Krawk who was admitting passengers onto the boat and stopped, taking deep breaths. "Is this boat bound for Ral Mirean?" she asked quickly.

"Name."

Celiath thought quickly, knowing she would need to change it. "Seleika Laitenla," she said, taking the name of another apprentice healer. Since the Krawk had not changed his expression, Celiath reached into her pack and drew out four silver coins. "Passage for me to Ral Mirean." Saemine and Elsu had left.

The Krawk laughed. "I have been instructed not to take on any new passengers."

Celiath slid another three out of her pack, one by one, and then looked at the Krawk. "Seven," she said evenly, trying to look as if this was above her. "My family has summoned me to Ral Mirean, and I must reach the island quickly." Her gaze, she hoped, warned the Krawk that he did not want to bear the displeasure of the Laitenla family. 

He snatched the seven silver coins out of her hand. "Go on," he said gruffly. "We don't have time to barter with the likes of you."

"_I_ don't have time to barter with the likes of _you_," Celiath echoed confidently, like the noble she was disguising herself as would. She stepped up the ramp and onto the boat. The Krawk followed and closed the ramp, allowing no more passengers access. 

Celiath let out a deep breath. She would never have to return to Thora Mountain again, and she was on her way home. With a sigh, Celiath sat down on an empty bench where no other passengers sat, weary from her long walk through the city and still feeling like she would meet her death here.


	3. Between

__

Neopia City

Crescent finished the book she had been reading, a novel about a girl trying to stop an evil enchanter from taking over her kingdom, and checked the time. It was eleven o'clock. Crescent yawned; the long day was catching up with her. 

She placed her book on the computer desk and glanced at the screen saver, which showed the Aisha from NeoQuest II fighting with one of the monsters. Crescent gazed at it for a few seconds, trying to remember something, and then snapped her fingers and turned toward the stairs with new energy. 

About halfway up them, she ran into Celiath's twin Stelakar. "Have you seen Celiath?" the purple Eyrie asked.

Crescent sighed. "I was just about to ask you that question. I asked her to try to find Kimtaya's history project, and I haven't seen her since." 

Stelakar developed a pensive expression. "I think that Celiath might have gone to the attic. Kimtaya might not think to look for the project there, since you do have all these dangerous things in there."

Dangerous things. "Oh, no." Crescent ran up the stairs to the second floor and then to the attic. She opened the door and noticed that the light was on. "Celiath was here," she called to Stelakar. Crescent stepped into the room, looking carefully for any disturbances. Then she spotted a key and grimaced. "It fits," Crescent muttered, shaking her head. "It just fits."

"What does?" Stelakar asked. 

Crescent indicated the key, unwilling to touch it. "Celiath showed me a sketch she made from NeoQuest II of a keyring, and mentioned there was a new addition. She would have picked it up, and it would have taken her somewhere else."

"Where?"

"I don't know," Crescent said. "I've never been foolish enough to try! And no, Stelakar, you can't go through. It would take you somewhere else. Celiath has to find the key under her own power in order to get back…and she might have to go through great danger. I do not want you to be in danger like that. Promise me you won't go looking for her."

Stelakar looked upset, but the expression on her face soon turned to obedience. "All right. I promise." 

Crescent sighed and looked at one of the boxes, hoping she could find something to bring Celiath back from wherever the key had sent her. Stelakar probably wouldn't keep her promise, so she would have to get Kimtaya or Elenqui to keep an eye on her. Crescent, meanwhile, had to look through these boxes, find the object if it existed…She yawned and fell asleep.

__

A few minutes later

Stelakar fell back on the bed and closed her eyes, but they opened again as soon as she closed them. That seemed a little bit strange to her, since it had been a long day and it was late at night. Then again, she hadn't changed clothes and her brain could just be on overload. It did that sometimes, most often when she was trying to write a paper for her English class. Stelakar couldn't pick out any of the thoughts that were troubling her, though.

Finally, she managed to find one. She wanted to know where Celiath had gone, needed to find her twin. She had promised Crescent that she wouldn't go looking for Celiath, though. Stelakar rose out of her bed and switched on the lamp anyway, staring at the empty bed across from hers. She couldn't stay in here with that empty bed facing her, looking at the way that the books on the shelf were in immaculate order and the desk was clearly organized in a way that Stelakar's lacked. 

Where had she gone? Stelakar wasn't sure whether what she was about to do was right, but she didn't care. She walked over to Celiath's nightstand and picked out the diary with a turquoise cover. Stelakar carefully pulled the ribbon out of the book and read from the pages of the diary:

_8th of Celebrating_

"Something quite surprising about the sunrise, that it brings in a day seemingly no different than any other, yet so many things happen from sunrise to sunrise that none of them seem the same."

Just another day. I've been staying up late playing NeoQuest II, so my hand is getting tired from clicking on the mouse so much. I haven't been taking any notes, since no one really noteworthy has appeared in Al Mikai yet. There's no sign of Irefen. I would have willingly stayed up and looked for her all night, but Crescent insisted that I go to bed. There's something different about Irefen from the rest of the game, something really intriguing about her and the city of Al Mikai…

It was a day like any other. I've been helping Kimtaya get some last research in on her Lost Cities project, since the Faerieland library is so huge. It took a lot of work to find the seventh Lost City—most people say that there are only six and that the seventh is so far lost in time that no one will ever know about it. But I found it referenced in an old book in the library, called A History of Larkani, Cairhel, and Kilinti. It never refers to the Castle on the Sea as one of the Lost Cities, but it has to be, and it doesn't match the description of any of the others. 

I have to say, it reminds me of Al Mikai a little, or perhaps Al Kandri. But I'm too sleepy to write about it, and my hand's getting tired.

~ Celiath

That was yesterday's entry, and apparently Celiath hadn't had time to enter one for today before she had disappeared. It was connected to Kimtaya's project, Stelakar thought she could assume. What if the book gave her a hint? Where would this book be? Had the seventh Lost City, this Castle on the Sea, had anything to do with her sister's disappearance?

"Strange and bizarre," the Eyrie said, rising. Now she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep at all. She would have to go to the attic. Stelakar only paused for a moment, remembering that Crescent was up there, before continuing anyway. Her head told her she shouldn't, but her body was independent of that. She switched off the lamp and closed the door of the room.

No one was there. Stelakar assumed it was a lucky thing that Crescent hadn't gotten around to sending Kimtaya or Elenqui to look for her yet. She quickly went down the hall and up to the attic, opening the door quietly as she saw Crescent was asleep. There was a book resting on the floor, the history text that Celiath had mentioned in her diary. Stelakar took a step toward it and noticed a small key embossed in the cover of the book, underneath the title. Somehow it seemed a little odd to Stelakar, yet perfectly normal.

She opened the cover of the book, somehow selecting the exact place where the key was embossed to put her hand, and started to read the title page when it suddenly blurred. When Stelakar was able to see the page again, it was marked _A Discourse on Magical Theory: Volume Three. _

"What?" Where was this?

__

Castle of Lord Tirokan, Thora Mountain

Lord Tirokan rose from his seat to greet Briata, who looked even more prim than usual. "Cousin!" he shouted, giving Briata a large hug. "What brings you here?" 

Briata slipped out of the hug, knowing it for flattery. "I seek your signature on a document for the search and arrest of one Celiath Mianre'll," she said shortly. 

Tirokan turned around, interested. "What has she done, other than had the misfortune to turn up here from her own kingdom?"

Briata pursed her lips. "She appeared in my house and replaced my daughter Tikanie. I tried to take her to authorities in the marketplace, but she somehow managed to leave before then. I want to find her so that I know why she is here. I believe that she may have ties to the Yin Kador. She was certainly very evasive when I questioned her."

Tirokan tried not to sigh. "What did you ask her?"

"Oh, only for her name and how she arrived in my library. I have the right to know those things." Now Briata had a defensive look. "Cousin, if you do not do everything in your power to apprehend her, it can be interpreted that you are aiding the Yin Kador. That is treason, my lord." 

"All right," Tirokan said. Sometimes he felt that he had no control over Thora Mountain and that Briata had all of it. But did it matter? He was not suited to rule this place, and Briata obviously wanted it.

Briata, smiling, handed him the paper, which he signed in blue ink: _Lord Tirokan Dequiela of Thora Mountain_. He gave it back to Briata.

"Thank you, my lord," Briata said, that large, false smile still on her face. She turned around and left, the document in her hand. 

__

Aboard the River Blessing_ on the Rylrinmar_

Celiath stood on the deck, oblivious to all the other passengers and the members of the crew that were also on the deck. She faced north and gazed at a Koi catching fish in the river and the farm that was on the north bank. There were a few small, wispy clouds in the sky, and Celiath spotted a few little groves of trees on the plains, outside the area that looked like the farm. It looked like a beautiful place, though Celiath would have admired it more if it resembled Neopia in any way. 

She turned and glanced south. Celiath noticed the plains and tiny groves of trees looked just the same as they did on the north bank, except for a road that led southwest. Someone was riding a Uni south on that road, towards another place. _The road,_ Celiath thought, _probably leads to Thora Mountain if you go the other way._

Saemine…Now that was odd. Part of Celiath insisted it was just an ordinary name and that there were hundreds of people in Larkani named Saemine. But the resemblance to NeoQuest II was really odd. Even stranger, that wasn't the only one. Damreith would correspond to Duke Alenem's servant Damath. And then Larkani was Lemirka. _If Larkani is Lemirka, this is a kingdom doomed. A kingdom doomed! Is that why I'm here? _She shivered, knowing that she was certainly not the ideal person to save a kingdom.

__

She turned her head to her left, facing east, but saw nothing but the river winding through the plains and the ship itself. Something was a little odd about it, though. Celiath snapped her fingers suddenly. _Why is it called Thora Mountain when there are no mountains? _

Though it was certainly odd, Celiath shrugged it off. Perhaps it was just a peculiarity of the language. There were such things in Neopia, too. 

Then she turned her head west, in the direction she was going. They were going to Ral Mirean, where there would be answers. Of course, there would probably be much more danger in the capital city, and Celiath would have a difficult time disguising her identity.

_I wonder if anyone from home has noticed that I'm gone? _Celiath thought. _What can Crescent do? She probably knows what the key does and has some idea of how to fix it. But just in case she doesn't, I have to try to fix things myself. _

"If only I knew more about the Yi…_them_," Celiath muttered, checking her hair. "Then maybe I could unravel things…"

She read through the pages about NeoQuest II that she had brought up to the deck with her, hoping to stay familiar with the story even if she never returned to finish the game. Though the story did not enchant her as much as it had when she first wrote the notes, it kept Celiath occupied for a short period of time as she paged east and then south through the world of NeoQuest II. 

Celiath had reached the point of the story that usually enthralled her, when she was speaking to the god Rimor. Suddenly, she noticed that she had reached the final page of her notes. _That's not possible. There was at least one page, both sides, of Rimor. Then I wrote for the trip west and took a few notes when I was fighting the guardians on Al Kandri. After that, I went into Al Mikai and Irefen. _

She rose, gathered her notes together, and headed down to her cabin on the ship. Her pack was lying on the bed, and she picked it up and looked through it. Celiath's old clothes fell out first, as well as the coins Damreith had given her and the sketch of the NeoQuest keyring. There were no more papers, though. It was as if she had never played past Rimor. 

_Why would someone be interested in my notes? _Celiath wondered. _And why those pages? I think they concerned the area around Brearis, the Puzzle, and Al Mikai, specifically Erala. Then there was Irefen, who was talking about how I saved her and about…I don't remember his name, but he was the evil one. Mostanio._

Suddenly, an interesting question popped to Celiath's mind. Was NeoQuest II real? If so, was she playing the game in real life? 

_That's impossible, _Celiath decided immediately. _Really? Eerie, but it seems true. All those cities correspond to cities here. The people, too._

Celiath shook herself. Even though it seemed true and it seemed to fit, that didn't mean that it did. She had to assume that Larkani had nothing to do with Lemirka and that Saemine was just a coincidence. 

__

A few cabins over

Yialun, a red Lenny dressed in black, perused a page of writings. "I cannot read this word," he said sharply. "In fact, I cannot read half this page. Would you attempt to translate this sentence into something intelligible for me."

The purple Techo who had misdirected Celiath in Thora Mountain looked at it. "That says…'He was turning Caeridyl against Lemirka and Lemirka in on itself.'" He stared at the page, wondering what it said too. 

The Lenny read a couple more lines. "It breaks off here." He then turned to the purple Techo. "Why did you think this was important? I see no significance in it whatsoever. It resembles a tale from a storybook I read as a child."

"Master," the Techo said, "you told me to try and find out as much as I could about anyone else on the scene. I did as you instructed me and inspected her bag, then took some of the papers. Hopefully, the agent will miss their presence."

Yialun shook his head in mock disgust. "Of course she will not miss their presence. That bag was a decoy, you dolt! She carried outlandish clothing, a few coins, and this gibberish. Her real supplies must have been somewhere else. The ways of enchanters are many. Remember that. And before you ask me another stupid question, she must be more than a healer. There are enchantments to hide those things. Now get out of my sight, but make sure to stay out of the agent's way. She will certainly recognize you."

The Techo simply stared for a moment. 

"Go." The Lenny raised a wing at the Techo threateningly, who scurried out of the room and closed the door. 

Alone, he glanced at the notes again. It was certainly odd that the name of the fallen ruler resembled the name of the ruler of Larkani, Queen Fierrey. Yialun wanted the thief to think that the notes were completely insignificant. Secrets had their way of being passed to the enemy if too many people knew, and this enemy could pluck a secret from someone's head with the same effort as pulling out a hair. Yialun could protect himself from this, since he was an enchanter himself, but no one else that he trusted knew.

Who had written these notes? Maybe he or she could help him, assuming that Riensi didn't find their author first. Yialun breathed in through clenched teeth at the thought of the magician. If Riensi found the author, persuaded him or her to his bent of thinking, Larkani would surely crack along the fault line he had begun to create. While the Queen and her friends contemplated declaring war on Cairhel, they had been ignoring the Yin Kador, the real threat in the kingdom. The eastern influence in the council was growing, so they had finally been able to persuade Queen Fierrey to exile the Yin Kador from the island. When Yialun returned to Ral Mirean, perhaps the council would grow closer to restoring order. He could certainly use the help of the mysterious author, though. 

These notes told a story, he thought, looking up from them. What if he told the story in the court of Ral Mirean? That would surely draw in the author. 

__

Ista Kaderyi

The castle was visible from out the window when Riensi viewed it from the magical telescope. It first focused in on one of the banners in Larkani, flapping in the wind that was always there on the blasted island. Riensi hadn't always thought of Ista Mirean as a blasted island. After all, that would make Ista Kaderyi just as horrible, since it was in the same chain of islands. That development had just started that autumn when Queen Fierrey had exiled him.

It was all Yialun's fault, of course. Everything had been all right before he had come down the Rylrinmar from the east with all those so-called enlightened ideas. One of those so-called enlightened ideas being that a society like the Yin Kador was dangerous. It couldn't be dangerous! There had to be some way to regulate the use of magic in Larkani! Yialun was another one of those eastern magicians from Gisend or wherever who wasn't Yin Kador. Being the leader of the society, it scared Riensi at least a little. True, he argued that the Yin Kador played a vital role in Larkani, and they did, but it was nice to have all the magicians in the kingdom under his thumb.

The spotted Aisha moved the telescope slightly, focusing in on a starry Shoyru who was standing at the top of the tower. Riensi briefly looked away from the telescope and pulled back the sleeve of his tunic, revealing a gold charm bracelet. His paw went to an intricately crafted ear, and red violet sparks appeared around the paw and the charm. Then he dropped the bracelet and looked back through the telescope.

"Kierre. How go things?"

"Not well," the voice of the Shoyru came back. Riensi still had a few friends in Ral Mirean, and he tried to contact them regularly to see what was happening there and try to sway events his own way. Since Kierre was on the Queen's council, she was the friend Riensi contacted the most. "You've been calling more and more often. Are you nervous about something?"

That was not a question Riensi wanted to answer. "I've been calling more often because things have been getting worse."

"What about those two…"

Would the woman get off the subject? "The meeting was this morning, correct. What happened?" 

"Debate over going to war with Cairhel. Yialun was gone, but that second of his, Celumio, more than made up for it. I really think they know what you're up to, Riensi."

"What gives you that impression?" Obviously they didn't know. Well, maybe they knew what Riensi was _claiming_ to be up to. 

"Well, um, they're just putting forward any argument to head off a settlement, anything to stop the Queen from saying anything definite."

"You have any allies in the council?"

"I think maybe Thiell agrees with me. You remember her—speckled Pteri, a bit of a snob because she's a Cantalla, but she's got her fair share of influence. She usually seems to be arguing with me."

"Thanks." Riensi took his eye away from the telescope, though he didn't de-activate the ear charm just yet. He soon took away the spell, though, since Kierre wasn't saying anything and it was a waste of energy. Talking to her was getting very tiresome, since every day she was asking more questions. They were friends, but not that close. Riensi hadn't even told any of his friends what his real plans were. To all intents and purposes, he had created the summoning spell to bring in two people with the ability to save the kingdom. And no one else would know otherwise, not even the two he was going to use. Assuming they ever showed up!


	4. Riensi

Looking south, Celiath could not see the southern bank of the Rylrinmar as clearly as she had before. There were only hazy cliffs visible that morning. The north bank was more easily seen. Celiath thought she saw a city there, but was not certain because of the fog. She headed down to get her pack, remembering to stop at Ista Kaderyi. 

The ship, Celiath remembered, was going to stop at each of the five major islands that hovered around the mouth of the Rylrinmar. As the ship stopped at the northernmost island, Celiath could feel something pulling her south like a magnetic attraction. Then, as it continued to the next island, the feeling only got stronger. It certainly did seem like Celiath was meant to go to Ral Mirean, but she was still wary. 

The ship stopped at the next island, and Celiath felt the strange force dragging her off the ship. She stumbled as her feet touched the ground, but made sure to hang onto her belongings this time. 

"Are you all right, child?" a Kacheek asked her.

Celiath nodded. "Yes, thank you." She rose and looked around the island. "Good day." Celiath continued walking to wherever the magnetic force was pulling her. She looked at a castle on the island and seemed to walk up the uphill street faster. Though Celiath was getting tired because of the uphill climb, she could not stop. Then she finally reached the castle door and followed a Poogle inside. Celiath did not know what was inside the castle, only that she had to go there. She ascended still more stairs to a room that looked like the library of the castle, with a wall that looked just like that in Briata's library and also like the one in Crescent's attic back home. Celiath snapped her fingers. _There it is! Now, I just need to find the key, change into my old clothes, and I can be back home. _Celiath turned around, convinced that the key was there. Then she saw a familiar shape.

"Stelakar?" she asked the purple Eyrie in front of her. It was her twin, wearing her "Dark Faerie" T-shirt, jean shorts, and purple sneakers, her straight brown purple-streaked hair cropped to about chin length. "How did you get here?"

"I tried to follow you," her twin replied gruffly. "Instead, I found this crazy guy who wants me to save his kingdom and has kept me imprisoned here like one of those damsels in distress that are constantly appearing in the faerie tales. Apparently he's waiting for you." 

"And you have arrived." A spotted Aisha strode in carrying several large books and dumped them on a table. "Thank you for coming, Celiath."

"Who are you?" Celiath asked, staring into his brown eyes. She could feel a shiver running over her skin at the sight of him, and her eyes were tingling. There was something strange about the way he looked…but no, the Aisha appeared completely normal.

"Riensi Emarla," he answered, inclining his head slightly. "You may have heard of me. Sorry if it's a little cold. The castle gets like this in wintertime." So there was a rational explanation for the cold. Celiath remembered learning that about castles now that the Library Faerie had found some books on Meridell. 

"So now that Celiath is here, are you going to talk?" Stelakar asked angrily.

Riensi sighed and Celiath smiled slightly. Knowing Stelakar, she had been after Riensi about this for a while.

"Would you happen to have the key here somewhere, Riensi?" Celiath asked calmly. "It's white but has a silvery glow, and has these strange inscriptions on it. Stelakar and I need it to get home."

"It's not that easy," Stelakar said. "The guy wants us to save his kingdom for him." The purple Eyrie rolled her eyes. "You know how it is, Celiath. You've read the stories in the NT."

Riensi responded: "Yes, I have the key. I created it to bring the two of you here."

"Why us?" Stelakar said. 

"I set a few strict limitations on it," Riensi said. "I wanted two people closely tied to each other. As you are twins, it satisfies that condition. Second, you both had to have either some latent ability for magic or one of the commonly accepted powers, but not the ability to use it. It makes things a little easier." 

"Celiath has healing magic," Stelakar said quickly. Celiath recognized her direction and hoped for a moment that Riensi would let them go home because she had healing magic. Then she raised her eyebrows and let them fall again. _He's probably talking about real magic, like the Yin Kador type that brought us here. And none of us have that. _

Riensi's voice turned cold. "Young Eyrie, that does not affect things the slightest bit. I assume you know that there are different types of magicians. I speak of the first and least common type, those with a full Yin Kador's powers. The other three types have not been banished from Ral Mirean, if they have enough sense to keep their powers under wraps. Who would support Queen Fierrey's declaration if she exiled all the healers from the island?" He shivered. 

"Please, just explain," Celiath said. "I don't know if Stelakar even knows where this is. I managed to avoid the local police force just by luck. There's some sort of huge plot going on, and I'd like to know what it is."

"All right," Riensi said. He took a few deep breaths, then began. "Just so that you know, Stelakar, this is the island of Ista Kaderyi off the coast of Larkani." He paused significantly. 

"That tells me nothing."

Riensi turned to Celiath. "You know where you are, I hope?"

Celiath thought about what to say for a moment, then answered. "I do not know where this is in relation to our home, but I have traveled here from Thora Mountain."

"Thora Mountain?" Riensi asked. He looked surprised, and Celiath figured that the spell had gone wrong. No spellcaster with any sense would drop her in the library of someone like Briata. "All right. Now, the kingdom to the south of Larkani is called Cairhel."

The name tickled slightly at Celiath's memory, but she couldn't place it. 

"So Cairhel is the enemy."

Riensi looked at Stelakar. "Yes. Very good, Stelakar. Cairhel is quite jealous of Larkani, because they believe we have something of theirs that they want back. Not that I know what that something is, Stelakar." His words were growing more and more pinched. "They declared war on Larkani a while ago, but we defeated them. Now it seems they have a new king who has decided to conquer Larkani again." He looked at Stelakar again to cut her off. "They're not going to cross the border and try to fight their way in quite yet. They decided to weaken us first, it seems."

"And they did that by inciting dissent against the Yin Kador," Celiath said, starting to catch on. "They probably have various spies and agents here." This was definitely beginning to sound familiar. It wasn't quite like NeoQuest II, but there were enough similarities to the fall of Al Mikai that Celiath was wondering again if she had fallen into the game. "I'm just wondering, how do you know that Cairhel is behind it?"

Riensi considered for a little while. "Larkani," he said slowly, "is bounded by the Western Ocean, Cairhel, Minyarad to the east, and Shiganse to the north. The Empress of Minyarad is having some difficulty managing her empire right now, and Shiganse is fighting a war against Dresvin. I see no other explanation. The Cairhellin have always been tricky, and I wouldn't put it past them. They want their treasure back, whatever it is."

"Celiath," Stelakar said, "can I speak to you in private for a moment?" She took Celiath by the arm and led her out of the library, into a hallway. The purple Eyrie was silent for a few moments, then said, "Celiath…you seem to know more about this place than I do. Can you explain things to me?"

"I'll tell you what's happened," Celiath said. "I found myself in a library in the city of Thora Mountain that belonged to some crazed noblewoman. A servant told me what was going on and where I should go. I escaped from the noblewoman and from the local police, got on a boat headed for the capital, then got here. What Riensi is saying seems to fit with everything that's been going on since I arrived. I'm wondering how long it's going to take for the police here to find me. And…Stelakar, you're going to think I'm crazy, but I think we might have fallen into the world of NeoQuest II. There are similarities. I'm not sure about it, though, and I'm trying to treat it like a separate place." 

"What makes you think that?" Stelakar asked.

Celiath raised her index finger. "First: There are people here who either have names like the people in the game, play similar roles, or both. Second: The situation seems rather similar. The kingdom is falling from within, like Al Mikai probably was. Third: Someone took my notes. I don't know how they would be significant to anyone…"

"Someone took your notes about NeoQuest II?" Stelakar asked. "Which ones?"

"The most recent ones," Celiath answered, "and the ones I'll probably need to finish the game. They concern the gate of Erala, the first inkling of the big trouble, and some further information I was just taking down when Crescent called me to help Kimtaya find her history project."

"So if anything else," Stelakar said, "we need to get the notes back." Stelakar eyed the library. "About him…I'm not sure what to think. Why would he keep me in this castle like some silly damsel in distress if he needs me to go to this city, whatever it's called, so much? It's frustrating. I know there's something odd about Riensi, but I can't think of any rational objection to the way he acts." Stelakar began to pace. "When I think about how he's skipped around the edges of the explanation with us, my brain answers that he's only trying to save his kingdom. It's like he' s put a spell on me. I really don't like it."

Celiath sighed nervously. "I didn't really consider that. I just thought that here's information and the guy who made the key, so go get it." She felt slightly embarrassed that if there was a spell, it had worked for her and not Stelakar, who had less experience with magic. Of course, it could just be Stelakar's attitude. The Eyrie often tried to get into adventures but did not seem to enjoy the ones that she finally found.

Celiath spoke again: "One of the rules that I've operated under here is to take advice from anyone I can, but to listen warily. It doesn't seem to me like Riensi has any motive other than to save the kingdom, which is something he can't do at the moment. Makes me think of the god Rimor, only he was a lot more direct than Riensi…"

Just then, Celiath felt that magnetic pull again. The force jerked her through the doorway before she could think to control her feet. "What…" She could see Riensi put a magnet down and enter the library.

"Sorry about that," the spotted Aisha said amiably. "I just had to get your attention." 

Celiath narrowed her eyes. She was starting to understand Stelakar's position. Then, she realized something. "How do you make it work, Riensi?" Celiath asked. "The summoning."

Riensi walked into an adjoining room and came out holding something, which he gave to Celiath. She took a magnet from him that looked a lot like her. "I see," Celiath said. "So you used this to bring me here. It makes sense. How did the key work?"

"Well, I made it so that it obviously would not fit any door," Riensi said, looking like he was finally starting to do something he enjoyed. "The symbols on it are the specific parameters of the spell that I put on it. I made it by enlarging one of the spare keys to this castle, in hope that the spell would bring you directly here, but one of the symbols that I used had some double meaning that might have implied Thora Mountain. Magic is a tricky thing sometimes, and there is a lot of magic in that city."

"Why is it called Thora Mountain if there are no mountains around it?" Stelakar asked, walking into the library. 

Riensi looked thoughtful. "A trick of the language, I suspect. It changes in some odd ways."

Stelakar seemed to accept that answer, but Celiath knew she was turning it over in her head and looking for some way she could get more information. 

"To get back to the subject, can you help?" Riensi asked. "I have a few contacts in Ral Mirean who can help you blend in at the Court and give you a place there…"

"Court?" Stelakar asked, looking absolutely horrified. "With the frilly dresses and the gossips and the constant scheming and intrigue?"

"Where else could you go in order to get close to Queen Fierrey?" the Yin Kador asked, slamming his paw down on the stack of books and causing red violet sparks to fly from them. "She spends all of her time in the Palace! Would you like this mission to succeed or not, young Eyrie?"

Stelakar opened her mouth, but closed it again. Celiath smiled slightly, guessing her twin's mind. Stelakar did not care about Larkani, but she had always wanted an adventure. Celiath found that she had come to care about the kingdom, because of Saemine, Elsu, and the people and places she had seen while going downriver.

Riensi turned the corners of his lips up in a tiny, satisfied smile. "All right, then. I shall arrange for my contact, Kierre Aronkela, to meet you as soon as you get off the boat at Ral Mirean. Celiath, this is for you." He opened a box next to the pile of books and handed her a silver charm bracelet. She took it and spun it around in order to see the ten charms on it: a mirror, a mask, a raindrop, a hummingbird, an empty circle, a hand with an outstretched finger, a rainbow, an eye, a book, and a key. 

"Thank you," Celiath said as she examined the charms.

"And this is for you, Stelakar." He took a wand out of his pocket and handed it to her. It was made of bronze and studded with small amber gems. _It looks familiar, _Celiath thought. Then she snapped her fingers as it clicked. It was yet another connection to NeoQuest II; this time, it was the bronze wand that required a tiny amber. Celiath had used that wand a long time ago when she was playing the game. Her bracelet was made of silver, and silver was the second wand she had used. It represented Life Magic.

_What do the charms mean? I suppose the mask would be for disguise, the hand with an outstretched finger would identify someone, the book is for knowledge, and the key is the way back. But what significance does an empty circle have? And there are ten of them. One for each key._

Celiath shook her head. The coincidences were piling up onto each other in staggering piles. If this was not the world of NeoQuest II, it was a very similar place…_Try to ignore them! The game did mention Larkani and Cairhel, I suppose. Lemirka and Caeridyl. But maybe it's a series of coincidences, and I could make assumptions that are wrong._


	5. Island Hopping

Celiath and Stelakar had stayed in Riensi's castle that night and had eaten dinner with him and the other residents of the castle: members of his family, servants, and four other exiled Yin Kador. Three of the Yin Kador had spent most of dinner talking among themselves about ways to make the Queen realize her error in exiling them. Riensi and the fourth Yin Kador, a silver Poogle named Alianyi, had participated in the discussion occasionally but had often stared at Celiath and Stelakar. Alianyi's dark brown eyes had a haunting quality that had bothered Celiath. 

After the dinner, Alianyi had approached Celiath with some advice. The words still echoed in Celiath's head: _I sense your confusion concerning the silver bracelet you wear. I shall inform you about the ten items on it. The mirror represents reflection, the mask disguise, the raindrop your power, the hummingbird speed, the empty circle possibility, the hand identification, the rainbow magic, the eye sight, the book knowledge, and the key a passage. Those are only a few of our interpretations for those symbols, however. Think of my words what you will, and use your gift wisely. _

Celiath looked at her charm bracelet again. The eye glowed a pale turquoise, but Celiath could not figure out why. The empty circle spun around, and Celiath though she saw little images flash inside it but could not see them more clearly. She returned her attention to the path in front of her, which descended to the dock on Ista Kaderyi. A full moon shined as well as a lantern that a third Yin Kador held, a Tuskaninny whose name Celiath could not remember. He was leading Celiath and Stelakar downhill on a back route to the dock that had numerous switchbacks and bothered Celiath a lot. She suspected Stelakar was even more impatient, since the Eyrie was the only one of the three who could fly. Though Celiath was certainly impressed with her twin's flight, she had no desire to do so herself. Being a Zafara was just fine. 

Celiath looked back at Stelakar, who was flying close to the path. She then turned her gaze forward, keeping her steps small to avoid tripping over unseen rocks and dips in the path as the Tuskaninny went around another switchback. Celiath could see the glint of the moon on the ocean. 

_Though this is not a peaceful kingdom, _she thought, _it would be nice if I could return in another time. Larkani certainly is a beautiful place. I wish I could have brought my camera to capture a moment. _

But the next day, there would be no time to think of that. They would be in Ral Mirean, in Queen Fierrey's Court, searching for…someone. Celiath glanced at the bracelet. _The book could probably tell me…but no. I don't know whether the charms will disappear after I use them. I should only use them when it's absolutely necessary. Riensi's contacts might be able to answer that question. _

The person they were looking for was probably an enchanter with dangerous powers that Celiath and Stelakar had no way of facing, but things might not be like that. There had to be a reason why Riensi had chosen them, and it would be something that would surely give the twins victory. 

_Maybe it's NeoQuest! _Celiath thought suddenly. _If you say "Al Mikai" quickly, you think of Ral Mirean. And since I know the game, I can predict the enemy's next move…that is, I would have been able to if I had been able to take down more of Irefen's speech. I think I remember the evil one destroying Lemirka from within, and Al Mikai became a ghost city. But I have to remember, this might be a completely separate world…_

Still, Celiath could feel puzzle pieces coming together. But they felt forced, like someone had been cutting away at the pieces to make them fit. Al Mikai and Ral Mirean didn't really sound that similar. Everything could have been a coincidence! She had to remember that.

Celiath looked ahead of her and noticed that she was walking on a beach instead of the narrow path, and that the terrain was much less steep. She lengthened her stride a little. This did not look like what she remembered of the dock, but Celiath had not been looking around when she got to Ista Kaderyi. 

The Yin Kador led them to a small boat and gestured for Celiath and Stelakar to get in. He took the front, Celiath took the middle, and Stelakar took the back. "I know the way to Ista Mirean," he said quietly.

"Why all the secrecy?" Stelakar asked in the same whisper. "This probably isn't the main dock."

The Yin Kador placed his lantern in the front of the boat. "The Cairhellin may be watching. Their enchanters would know about the two of you; the disturbance would be obvious to anyone who can sense such things." 

Celiath could tell that the Yin Kador was casting a spell of some sort. "A directional thing," he explained. "I have to land at the correct dock on Ista Mirean." He then explained a few things about the boat to Stelakar, and the two of them began to paddle. Celiath let her thoughts drift back to NeoQuest II again. She had always thought that Al Mikai was supposed to be an island, but that it was impossible due to the restrictions of the game. _Only a coincidence…but then where are the notes? It could be one of the Cairhellin who wants to find out a few things about me. _

Celiath sighed and yawned. She was beginning to wish she had never gotten started on NeoQuest II and just played the original game on the harder levels. If she hadn't, this adventure might be easier because she wouldn't be seeing parallels to a game. _Or would I just know that much less? _She placed her head in her hands, uncertain. The eye glowed brighter, illuminating a small part of the night and making Celiath blink her own eyes, which wanted to close. She could not fall asleep…something bad would happen if she did, Celiath knew. 

Instead, Celiath sat up straighter and looked around the ocean, the constant splash of paddles entering the water creating loud ripples and keeping her awake. She looked at the full moon and then back ahead. Celiath's eyes felt tired from staying open so long, but they also had a strange feeling that she often got while being in the dark. It was like she was on guard for something. 

Perhaps she was on guard for the eyes of the Cairhellin…

Celiath looked east and wondered if the warrants for her arrest had spread to Ral Mirean. If they had, she might need to use the mask charm to disguise herself…maybe the contact…what was her name? It started with a _K_…Celiath shook her head, trying to clear the daze. They could probably help…

A breeze blew in from the ocean, making Celiath shiver. She clasped her arms together and sat up even straighter, turning her head and watching for the unknown presence for a reason she did not know. Paddles rushed through the ocean, the moon watched them, Celiath watched the air around her, and it all lulled her while making her even more alert at the same time. 

Finally, the Yin Kador rowing stopped the boat. "Welcome to Ista Mirean," he said in a rather dry voice. "I'll have to go back to Ista Kaderyi right away, as I am not supposed to be here, but we all wish you luck on your mission."

"Thank you," Stelakar said, replacing the paddle. "Where is Kierre?"

"They should be waiting," the Yin Kador said. "I told them you were coming. Now, go into the city quickly so that they don't know that anyone has arrived from the north. If they know that, you two will definitely be under suspicion." He got back in the boat and began to return the way he had come.

Celiath and Stelakar began to walk into the city. "What is the mission?" Celiath asked quietly. "I'm not sure I understand."

"I know I don't understand," Stelakar said without looking at her twin in troubled tones. "And it bothers me. How did we manage to leave Ista Kaderyi without the slightest idea of what to do? I just let Riensi keep talking me around, eager for any way off the island, and now I'm here in a situation I don't understand. And where is this contact anyway? Is she just another polite fiction?"

"I don't believe that that's true."

Celiath spun around, looking for the voice, and spotted a starry Shoyru. She quickly glanced around for somewhere to hide. Who was this?

"You may have heard my name," the voice of the starry Shoyru continued. Whoever it was seemed to be descending. "I am Kierre Aronkela." Celiath and Stelakar both relaxed at that, though Celiath found it nearly impossible to relax. What if it was only someone pretending to be Kierre in order to capture them? There had been signs in Thora Mountain advertising a reward for anyone who could find Celiath, and it would be an attractive lure. _Your imagination is far too active! _Celiath scolded herself.

"It's all right," Kierre said. "It's really me. I'll take you back to our house where you can rest up before we take you to the Court." Celiath shuddered from a wind before she caught sight of Kierre again.

Kierre flew slowly through the sky, and Stelakar began to fly lower. Celiath followed both of them, walking. She held her elbows, since the breeze was starting to get to her, and rotated her left wrist so that the gleaming eye faced forward and illuminated the street. The streets were larger than the ones in Thora Mountain, but Celiath noticed little else because she was so tired. 

A couple of times they stopped, and Celiath figured that Kierre had tried to take shortcuts over buildings in places where Celiath could not go because she had no wings. Finally, the Shoyru and Eyrie began to descend, and Celiath slowed her staggering pace as she noticed the door of a small house that was open a crack. Kierre landed first, drew out a key, and opened the door to let them in.

Celiath blinked her eyes, still trying to understand how she could feel so exhausted and yet so alert at the same time. She rubbed her eyes and followed Kierre to the room that she had set up for the twins, putting her things down beside her bed.

"Good night, Celiath," Stelakar said, entering the room.

" 'Night, Stelakar…" Celiath murmured as she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

Celiath looked around the high tower room where she stood. She saw mountains to the east and grassy plains in the other directions. The room looked like one of those generic studies that might bear enough resemblance to Crescent's to take her home. She checked her left wrist for the charm bracelet. There was the tenth charm, the key! Now all she needed were her own clothes…which she was not wearing. 

A shadowy presence in the center of the room was speaking. "You asked me about Erala?"

"No," Celiath said, cutting off Rimor. "Can you tell me about Al Mikai? Specifically, about Irefen?" 

"What? Oh, yes. Irefen was a sorceress and a kind ruler of Al Mikai, but she died when the city fell. She still guards the city as a ghost."

Celiath snapped her fingers. "A sorceress! Thank you, Rimor." That was a piece of information she had forgotten that could be significant. If Queen Fierrey was a sorceress, then how could she have ordered the exile of the Yin Kador? 

Her eyes popped open, and Celiath started as she realized she did not know where this was. _You're in Ral Mirean, _she reminded herself. _You're safe._ There was something she had dreamed about…there was an interesting mystery if NeoQuest II was true. It involved the link between Irefen and Fierrey somehow. 

"Why did I have to lose the last two pages of those notes?" Celiath mumbled. "It would make things so much easier…"

By the faint light that the eighth charm cast, Celiath saw Stelakar sleeping. The Zafara rolled over in bed and closed her eyes again.

Celiath looked at her own kitchen and raised a spoonful of Neo Crunch Cereal to her mouth, then nearly dropped it when she saw a red paw instead of her own aqua one. She shook her head and glanced at the caramel-colored hair that had fallen over her shoulder, then noticed that she wore a purple halter dress. 

Celiath turned her head, but it felt like someone else had made the decision to turn it and that she merely saw through the other person's eyes. _Kimtaya's eyes. _Crescent was entering the kitchen, her red hair in disarray and her glasses askew. Celiath also saw Elenqui's petpet, Emeline, crouching by the computer. "Stelakar's gone," Crescent said quietly.

"That's horrible!" Kimtaya said. "First Celiath and then Stelakar. I can't believe they've both gone missing. And my history project is still gone, and I have to present today."

"I'll call the school for you," Crescent said, going over to the phone in the corner and dialing a number. "Have you seen Elenqui yet?"

Just then, the faerie Kougra entered the room. "Hello, Elenqui," Kimtaya said to her little sister. "I'm glad you're still here."

Elenqui hugged Kimtaya. "Me too," the young Kougra said simply. "Crescent, is there anything we can do to bring Celiath and Stelakar back?"

Crescent was talking on the phone: "No, you don't understand. The twins, Celiath and Stelakar, have gone missing…we're trying to deal with this. In any case, Kimtaya and Elenqui will not be attending school today. Goodbye." Crescent hung up the phone and then turned to Elenqui. "I don't know," she said. "I just don't know. Stelakar tried, and she got sucked in too. I don't want to lose you too." Crescent left the room and walked up the stairs again.

Celiath tried not to cry at this. If only she had had the sense to change clothes, and she might have been able to go home! Stelakar would not have had the chance, though, and Celiath did not want to leave her twin behind.

"Kimtaya?" Elenqui asked. "You look a little sad."

"I am. My two older sisters are missing, and I don't know whether they'll come back. And I want to do something, but I'm scared. Stelakar tried to bring Celiath back, but the spell took her away too. I might be next, and I don't want to go."

"Me neither," Elenqui said, shivering. 

There was a knock on the door. "Is this the residence of Qthayetrules?" a voice shouted. "Also known as Crescent? My name is Adaleine, and I'd like to interview you about the disappearance of your two pets…"

"Go away!" Crescent yelled from upstairs. "We're not talking to you until we get Celiath and Stelakar back!" Celiath heard footsteps and Crescent lowering her voice slightly, "Stupid reporters…"

The dream blurred slightly, and Celiath then noticed Kimtaya and Elenqui were in the attic. There was no sign of the Summoning Key, thankfully. As Elenqui paged through a book titled _A History of Larkani, Cairhel, and Kilinti_, Celiath wanted to yell out that she was in Larkani. _Will they figure it out? _Celiath wondered. _And is there anything they can do to pull us out?_

"Is anyone else here, Elenqui?" Kimtaya asked suddenly. "It feels like someone is watching."

Elenqui looked up from the book, and Celiath saw that it was on Chapter 22 and also noticed the name Riensi Emarla. She wanted to shout out to Elenqui that they were on the right track, but just as soon as she tried to speak, Celiath felt the same strange presence that Kimtaya had sensed. Invisible eyes seemed to surround her and stopped her from doing anything but hovering in Kimtaya's mind in fear. _Am I going to be trapped here? _Celiath wondered. 

Then, Celiath had an idea. She pictured the silver bracelet with the eye facing forward. After fixing it clearly in her mind, she made the eye in her image light up turquoise. A faint tinge of turquoise light appeared in front of Kimtaya's eyes, and Celiath tried to make the image light up more. _I hope this works…Kimtaya, Elenqui, keep looking! You're on the right track!_

While she tried to convince her sisters to keep it going, Celiath kept feeling someone watching her. She knew they were the same invisible eyes that had haunted her during the trip to Ral Mirean. The invisible watchers filled the room, with many pairs of eyes all targeted toward Celiath. She sensed pressure on her mind, pressure to reveal herself, but knew she could not. Celiath continued to visualize the charm bracelet, hoping it could help somehow. _I don't want to be trapped here! _Fear froze everything else but that thought and the flickering image of the charm bracelet. She could tell Kimtaya was wondering what was happening from her vague magical sense, and looking out from Kimtaya's eyes one last time Celiath saw Elenqui trying to maintain her composure. Then Celiath pulled out from Kimtaya's head, trying to escape and let her sisters be…

"Celiath?"

Her eyes popped open, and she saw Stelakar in the small room. Celiath blinked a couple of times, trying to remember her dream. _Crescent, Kimtaya, and Elenqui…they're trying to do something…and I was scared. I don't know why, but I was scared._

" 'Morning, Stelakar," Celiath said, trying to get up out of the bed. She put her left paw down to lift herself up, but felt pain in her wrist. "Ow!" As soon as Celiath sat up, she raised her shaking left arm to look at the wrist. The ten charms had pressed into Celiath's skin, forming tiny imprints of each one in her skin. "No wonder my paw hurts so much, if I've been doing that all night."

Stelakar looked at the imprints. "Interesting," the Eyrie said as she raised the mirror charm on Celiath's bracelet. "I'll bet you that it was this charm that's responsible for the imprints being so strong. That's one of the powers of reflection."

"I won't bet against you," Celiath said. It did make sense, and Stelakar was smarter than Celiath in her own way. "I've noticed that all these charms seem to have defensive purposes. It is the way I am, but how would Riensi know this? Wait…Riensi wouldn't know. Alianyi would. She probably helped Riensi make the bracelet…" 

Stelakar nodded. "I don't plan to bet against you on that one. You have more in the way of common sense than I do."

"Thanks."

"It's true," Stelakar shrugged. "I went up to the attic even though Crescent told me not to. I just couldn't stay away from it. I know that it wasn't my fault, but I still feel like it had something to do with me. Hey, what do you think did happen to Kimtaya's history project about the Tyrannian War?"

Celiath didn't answer. Stelakar's mention of Crescent and Kimtaya had brought her dream that could have been more than a dream back to memory. 

"Celiath?"

She took a deep breath. "Kimtaya didn't find it. She won't get in trouble; Crescent called the school and said that Kimtaya and Elenqui wouldn't be going. They're all really scared. Kimtaya thinks she's going to be the next one to disappear, and she wants to do something, but she's too scared. And Elenqui has this book. _A History of Larkani, Cairhel, and Kilinti_, it's called. It looked like she was getting somewhere. I dreamed it, Stelakar, and I know it's true."

Stelakar looked like she was about to comment on that. After all, Celiath usually didn't even remember her dreams, let alone have true ones. Elenqui had true dreams. "Why would that happen?" she said after a little while. "It's got to be one of the charms that gave you that power, but I don't know which one."

"Neither do I," Celiath said. "I don't understand them, especially the empty circle. And where's Kilinti? It doesn't border Larkani. It might border Cairhel."

Someone knocked on the door, and then opened it. Kierre entered the room. "Feeling better?" she asked them.

"Kind of," Celiath said, still unsettled. "Not…really. Kierre, have you ever heard of a place called Kilinti?" 

"Kilinti," Kierre repeated to herself. "It's not familiar to me. Where did you hear about it?"

"In a book," Celiath answered. "It also talks about Cairhel and Larkani." Celiath suddenly remembered something else from the dream. Elenqui had been reading from about the middle of the book, not from the end. And how could there be a book about events that were happening right now in any case? They must have gone back in time as well. 

Celiath sighed. So there really was no way home, except by using the tenth charm. And Riensi had probably disabled that until Celiath and Stelakar completed the mission. In any case, all the conditions had to be right for that to happen. The study, the clothes, the situation…

Then Celiath thought about the book again, and how Kierre had never heard of Kilinti. She thought for a little while, and figured she knew how things would play out.

"Well," Kierre said to them, "we have breakfast for you. After you have a bite to eat, we'll finish explaining things."


	6. Kierre

Celiath took the last sip of the tea and smiled. The breakfast had been the best one she had eaten in a long time. The food aboard the _River Blessing _had been rather awful, and her hasty breakfasts on the way to the Water Faerie's school in Faerieland were good enough but looked as horrible as the ship's food in comparison to the pancakes that Kierre had made.

"So, now I assume you're in the mood for an explanation," Kierre said, looking across the table at Celiath and Stelakar. No one sat at the ends of the table. Instead, Kierre occupied one long side of it while Celiath and Stelakar sat across from her. 

"You bet I am," Stelakar said. "And don't try to give me one of those half-explanations, please. I'd like to get out of here with some idea of what I'm supposed to do so I can get home again. My family's worried sick."

"All right." The starry Shoyru paused to collect her thoughts. "First, the history. Perhaps a century ago, the then current Queen of Cairhel sent an emissary to Ral Mirean, stating that we had stolen a treasure from them and to give it back at once. Our Queen stated, rather simply, that we neither knew what this treasure was or had stolen it from Cairhel. The emissary promised that Cairhel would extract revenge and would regain the treasure."

"Hold on. You're saying that the Cairhellin thought you stole something from them that you don't have? That's pretty delusional to me," Stelakar pointed out. "It's like they're looking for an excuse to start a war."

"I think you're right, Stelakar." The Eyrie smiled, gaining confidence. "Cairhel declared war first. Larkani first gained the friendship of the Emperor of Minyarad, and then the two kingdoms joined forces against Cairhel. I don't understand exactly why the Emperor disliked Cairhel so much. It was probably on a point of etiquette. 

"The war was decided from the start. Larkani was much more powerful than Cairhel, and with the help of Minyarad they easily won the war. However, the present trouble was still growing even after the treaty. The Cairhellin were very upset over the terms of the treaty, which was insulting to them. They only accepted the terms on the words of a seer who stated that they would only regain the treasure if they accepted the treaty."

"Just curious," Stelakar interrupted. "What exactly did the treaty say?" 

Kierre thought for a moment. "I don't remember exactly what…Larkani and Minyarad might have taken some land from Cairhel, and they might have had to pay us. In any case, I think that was around the time when the Cairhellin started plotting revenge. When the new king was crowned there, he immediately started setting the plan into motion. They started by weakening Minyarad, I think. It's not obvious, since the empire has a lot of problems, but they were our allies and it does hurt us that we can't count on the empress for help. Even if she wasn't having trouble holding the empire together, she comes from a house that is closely connected to Cairhel. Then their agents weakened the Yin Kador…I think Riensi explained that."  
"You seemed to understand, Celiath," Stelakar said. "I don't think I really did. He has this strange way of explaining things."

"I did learn a lot about the way this place works during my trip from Thora Mountain," Celiath said. "A lot of people are very suspicious of the Yin Kador. The Cairhellin played upon that suspicion, I think. It probably wasn't hard to bring that to the surface."

Kierre nodded. "It wasn't. The Yin Kador were soon exiled from Ral Mirean. One of Queen Fierrey's most trusted advisors is Yin Kador, but he left when he noticed all the trouble that was happening. She has a new advisor, a shadow Lenny by the name of Yialun Takarla. It's disturbing, how much she trusts him."

"I see," Celiath and Stelakar said in unison. Celiath smiled while her twin laughed. 

"So…I assume we have to go after Yialun?" Stelakar asked. Celiath could tell that she liked Kierre a lot more than she liked Riensi.

"That would be good," Kierre agreed. "Find out what he's up to and if he has any connections to Cairhel. We'll be in the Court too, so you can communicate with us." 

Stelakar winced again at the mention of Court, but did not object this time. 

"I think," Kierre continued, "that the goal is for you to convince the Queen somehow that Yialun is not what he seems. It will be difficult, but if you have been chosen I believe you are up to the task."

"One thing," Celiath said. "Before I left Thora Mountain, there was at least one sign with my name and a description of me, telling anyone who found me to return me to the Lord of Thora Mountain. It was rather accurate. I assume that the word has spread in the last few days." 

"How did you manage to pull that off?" Kierre smiled. "I've done some pretty strange stuff in my time, but I never managed to get warrants printed with my name and picture on them."

"A trick of luck. I appeared in the library of the Lord of Thora Mountain's…I think that Briata is a cousin of some sort. I don't know what her plans with me were, but she was very suspicious. I got out of there under the name of Seleika Laitenla."

Kierre looked a little worried, then turned her attention to Celiath and Stelakar again. "We would need to give you new names anyway," she said. "Just to make sure you got enough respect in the Court. Seleika and Stelakar Laitenla…" she said slowly. "It might work. House Laitenla rules an area near the city of Caenta in eastern Larkani, and they do not often come to Court here in Ral Mirean. Occasionally they do send their children of a certain age to Court so they can see more about how the kingdom works and about Larkani in general. The Laitenla name will get you the connections that you need."

Something about the charm bracelet attracted Celiath's attention just then. The mirror charm looked slightly different. Had it just sparkled turquoise? 

"Well," Kierre continued, "we should get ready and then go to the Court and begin." She looked at Stelakar's hair. Celiath smiled at her baffled expression. Kierre probably had never seen any girls with hair as short as Stelakar's was, and the purple streaks and her clothes…

Celiath looked at the bracelet again and picked up the second charm, the mask, with two fingers of her right hand. "I think this might be needed."

"The mask?" Kierre nodded. "I think that it is needed to help disguise you. Where do you come from, anyway?"

"I don't think you would recognize the place," Celiath said. There was no way that Kierre would know anything about Neopia City. _Or perhaps she thinks we come from Kilinti, wherever that is. _

Looking at Kierre, Celiath figured that she needed to invoke the charm somehow. She looked at Stelakar and twirled the mask around several times, wondering how to make it work. _I wish Riensi had told me…I just wish that we can accomplish this quest. _She focused on changing Stelakar the same way that she often focused on healing someone, letting the mask charm do its work. 

"All right, Celiath," she heard someone say distantly. She stopped picturing the lady whose image Celiath had gotten from several old paintings in Faerieland and looked at Stelakar, who now wore an elegant deep purple dress. Her hair had darkened to the point where it almost looked black and was now styled in a braided bun. Celiath had also changed Stelakar's features slightly so she did not look as childlike and added the appearance of makeup, knowing it would be impossible to get it onto Stelakar. She also wore a necklace with a small diamond on it. 

The purple Eyrie shifted uncomfortably. "Well, it isn't too frilly, and at least I don't have to wear makeup," she said uncomfortably. 

"Still, you're going to have to be extra careful because it's an illusion," Kierre said quickly. "People are going to notice if they can sense magic. Even perfectly 'ordinary' people might notice if you do something that's too out of place, like running sprints in your heels."

"Heels?" Stelakar checked her feet and noticed that she was wearing a pair of fancy purple shoes that made her tower above Celiath even more than usual. "So even if the bad guys are chasing me, I can't run. Well, I'd rather fly anyway. That just might be a problem what with all this, so am I going to have to fake my flying abilities to keep up this mask?"

Celiath sighed. Stelakar had a talent for taking a situation and imagining straight to the worst possible scenario. On the other hand, Celiath only liked to dive back into things that had already happened and wonder how they had happened. It appeared she was getting some practice with that here, assuming that this was either the world of NeoQuest or the past. 

"Well, if the 'bad guys' are chasing you," Kierre said with a wry grin, "it probably doesn't matter anyway. Celiath, I'm assuming you want it done the regular way?"

"Yes, please," Celiath said. "I'd rather not trust in illusions, especially if this Cairhellin enchanter is around. And if it's real for me, it might help hide Stelakar."

Stelakar nodded. "Common sense, Celi, what did I tell you?" she whispered. 

"Then again, your penchant for abstract thought might come in handy, with these ten mysteries," Celiath said as she shook her left wrist. 

Kierre rose from the table. "All right, Celiath. Time to get you ready for our outing."


	7. Court

Celiath looked at her reflection in one of the many mirrors in the Palace hall. She looked almost identical to Stelakar in that they dressed in a similar style, though Celiath's color was turquoise instead of purple. She also walked with slight unease because her high aqua-colored shoes were real, but eventually got used to them. _You do not want anyone else stealing your NeoQuest II notes, _she told herself in order to walk straight. _It does not matter that you're teetering on these stilts. It has to be done, and you have to look like the perfect Laitenla lady._

"All these mirrors are making me nervous," Stelakar muttered.

"I think that's the point," Celiath responded as she glanced at the seven or so reflections of her walking toward the throne room with Stelakar and Kierre so that the Shoyru could present them to the Queen. She then looked at the mirror charm on her hand and the one on her wrist. Why hadn't the ten marks started to fade away yet? Celiath shuddered suddenly at all the mirrors bouncing back images of herself. It almost felt like she could step through one mirror and find herself at home. 

A bell rang, and Kierre groaned. "That's the lunch bell," she said. After a few more peals, she continued, "The Queen is summoning her advisors. I'm going to have to go to the meeting and see what's happening now." The starry Shoyru quickly turned down the maze of halls to where the advisors probably met. 

"Kierre is one of the Queen's advisors?" Celiath and Stelakar said in unison, surprised.

The doors of the throne room opened, and a familiar-looking faerie Gelert dressed in white quickly spotted Celiath and Stelakar standing outside and walked over to them with a few friends. "Hello," she said to them. "Are you new here? Well, I suppose you are, since I haven't seen you before—but then again I only arrived a few days ago. It's wonderful to meet you. I'm Tikanie Kirmila. What are your names?"

"Seleika Laitenla." Celiath made sure to respond before Stelakar could. "This is my sister Stelakar. You come from Thora Mountain?" Stelakar eyed Celiath, but the rainbow Zafara had no time to explain how she knew this. 

Tikanie sighed. "Yes. _Dreadful _place, Thora Mountain. It's not close enough to the two major cities to really be of much importance. Oh, sure, it's in the legends, but what use are legends? And I'm only the daughter of a distant cousin to the Lord of Thora Mountain. My mother, Briata, is perfectly dreadful. One of the servants warned me that she was going to marry me off to the Lord of Thora Mountain's son, who is absolutely dreadful. So I ran away and decided to come here. I'm glad I did—Ral Mirean is such a lovely place. Tell me, what's Caenta like?"

_Oh dear. _Celiath reviewed what Kierre had said about the Laitenla family. "I haven't been into the city much," she said, Tikanie's babbling causing Celiath to talk faster. "But it is a lovely place." 

At a gesture from a speckled Pteri from behind her, Tikanie started talking again. "These are two of my friends," she said, indicating each of them in turn. "Miraque Tardoela, Thiell Cantalla, Seleika Laitenla, Stelakar Laitenla." Miraque was a faerie Meerca and Thiell a speckled Pteri. Both wore white dresses like Tikanie's. 

"Pleasure to meet you girls," Thiell said, though it did not sound like she meant it. "Where do you come from…Caenta?" 

Stelakar nodded. "What about you?" Celiath was the only one who heard her muttering that Thiell probably came from the local garbage dump. The Zafara lowered her hands and tried to look as prim as she could. She felt one of the charms moving and suddenly knew something: _Thiell is very close to royalty and it's not a good idea to insult her. Miraque is from Gisend and part Cairhellin. _

_The book told me that,_ Celiath figured. 

Celiath could tell that Thiell was shocked Stelakar did not know where she was from. "I have lived here in Ral Mirean all my life. You know surprisingly little for a Laitenla lady looking to fetch a husband. Though perhaps you could fetch a husband in the poor quarters of the city. Well, I must be leaving…I just remembered my aunt wanted me to be at the meeting with her advisors. See you, Miraque." Thiell flew down the same hall that Kierre had gone down. 

Stelakar still looked like she wanted to punch Thiell in the nose, but Celiath spoke first to prevent any embarrassment. "What's Gisend like, Miraque?"

"Hmmm?" the faerie Meerca said. "Sleepy little border town. I'd rather be here than there, especially with all this talk about Cairhel trying to get revenge on us. It's a lot safer here. Let's go get something to eat."

While the four of them followed the rest of the Court, Tikanie occupied most of Celiath's attention. "Life here at the Court has been so lovely compared to life in Thora Mountain. I know you're going to love it. There are so many different people here…don't worry about Thiell, she's like that whenever someone new comes. There's a friend of mine that I'd like you to meet. He's writing this incredible story about a girl who's going off to fight this terrible evil that destroyed a kingdom. You should hear it. He's at this part where she goes to get help from a ghost, and it's so interesting…Seleika?"

Ever since Tikanie had started talking about the story, Celiath had felt her stomach flip-flop. This must be Yialun, the advisor that Kierre had warned her about. He had her notes. 

Celiath took a deep breath and tried to get past her fear. "I wrote that story." It was the first explanation she could think of.

"You…did?" The look of excitement was falling off Tikanie's face. "But…why would someone steal it from you?"

"I don't know why he took it, but he did. Did your friend ever tell the beginning of the story?" Celiath's heart beat louder as she went off on this limb.

"No…he just started from when she's talking to a god of some sort and only puts in a little bit of background. How does it go?" Tikanie looked really excited.

"Well," Celiath said slowly, "the girl was exiled from her home city. She goes east to start a new life and finds a mysterious scroll…" Celiath continued summarizing the tale of NeoQuest II, until the place where her notes stopped. "I lost the manuscript after the part when she talks to the god."

Tikanie was leading Celiath somewhere else now. "What does he have against you that he would steal your story? It could make you famous here, I know. I'll talk to him. I want to know why he stole your story! It's an excellent story, I think."

_Is this a good idea? _Celiath wondered. "Tikanie, where are we going?"

The faerie Gelert stopped. "Oh, right. I forgot you don't know the Court. I'm going to the garden, where Yialun said he would meet me after his meeting, and I'm going to ask him why he stole your story." 

Celiath followed Tikanie through the halls, growing more and more uneasy. "Tikanie…why are you doing this for me? I only met you a few minutes ago, and now you're going to try and denounce one of the most powerful people in Larkani for my sake! This can't be a good idea!"

Tikanie stopped and turned to Celiath. "Don't you see? You could be famous, and he's going to steal it from you. It's an excellent story, Seleika. You're my friend, and I'm not going to let this happen to you." Tikanie whirled around and continued walking. Celiath followed her, if only because Tikanie knew where she was going and Celiath would be lost without her. Shivers danced up and down her arms, face, and legs as she followed Tikanie out to the courtyard.

When they exited the palace, Celiath felt the sun on her, but it did nothing to warm the icy core of fear inside her. She continued to follow Tikanie through the outdoor garden and glanced around at trees that were losing their leaves and flowers that still retained their color. Tikanie stopped at one particular bench and sat down. "Now we wait," she declared. "While we're waiting, can you tell me more of the story?"

Celiath nodded. "Which part?"

Tikanie considered for a moment. "The part when she's in the temple."

Celiath thought about that for a moment, chose a part of the story, and then began to speak. "She entered a room filled with books. After looking around carefully, she took one off the shelf and looked inside of it._ Mysteries of Mienta, _it was called… Suddenly, she heard a cough, and she quickly put the book back where she had found it and pulled out her wand in case it was a monster. She soon put her wand away at the sight of an elderly Acara who greeted her as if she had not seen a living soul for years." Celiath paused at that, since she did not want to check her notes to remember the words that Ilicha had said.

However, it seemed that Tikanie had caught someone's eye. As Celiath watched, feeling a bit of irrational anger at losing her audience, she noticed a red Lenny walking calmly toward them. Celiath immediately blinked her eyes a few times and tried to assume the same calm. _I am just an ordinary courtier who has nothing to fear from anyone._ She breathed slowly even though she could hear her heartbeat and felt nervous energy collecting in her body.

"Yialun," Tikanie said sharply as soon as the Lenny was in hearing distance, "my friend Seleika wishes to speak with you about the story you are writing."

He turned his gaze to Celiath for one moment, and the rainbow Zafara tried not to shrink before his deep brown searching eyes. He knew. Was there any hope?

Soon, he turned his head away from Celiath and looked back at Tikanie. "It is unfortunate that you should interrupt me now, Tikanie. We are only taking a very short break from our meeting, and I am afraid very few of our issues have been resolved. Seleika, I will meet you at the top of the South Tower at sunset if you still wish to discuss my story. Until then, goodbye." Yialun turned away and continued walking the path through the garden, back to Court.

"Well," Tikanie said slowly. "I'll go to the South Tower with you."

"Tikanie…" Celiath protested, "I don't want you to get hurt too." Her voice was the only part of her body that Celiath felt working, and she hoped she could convey this message to Tikanie. Celiath's instincts told her that nothing good would happen if Tikanie accompanied her. _Nothing good will happen if you go, either. You shouldn't meet him on his own terms. It's probably a trap._

But what choice do I have if I want to go home?

Celiath glanced at the charm bracelet. She could probably use the key to take her home, but Stelakar might not be able to leave except by saving Larkani. Celiath took a deep breath and blinked tears away from her eyes. She had to do it. She couldn't abandon Stelakar. 

"I will go," Tikanie insisted. "I will help you." 

_If that's what you want, I can't stop you. _Celiath took a few deep breaths and sat up straighter. "I think that Stelakar would want to come along, since she is my sister," she said slowly.


	8. Meetings

Celiath had met up with Stelakar eventually and discussed things away from the ears of Tikanie and Miraque. "Every single bone in my body is telling me this is a mistake," Celiath had said. "We should try to set our own terms for this."

Stelakar, however, had gotten news that Yialun would be leaving the Court the next day, presumably to deal with some sticky affairs in his home. "That sounds like it's a lie," she had continued, "but I don't want to take that chance. It could be true, and we don't want to lose our chance to meet him. It's the only place where we know he's going to be. Maybe you're just letting your fear get to you, Celiath, and that's why you don't want to do it."

Celiath had not responded, but a response was echoing through her head at that moment: _Well, yes, I'm scared. It is common sense to be scared of someone who's stronger than you, more powerful than you, and already prepared. I'm scared, but I have to do it. I'm scared, but I have to do it. _

Luckily, Miraque had not insisted on coming; she was too concerned with her own position in the Court, according to Stelakar. Celiath was glad about this, since she did not even want Tikanie there. The girl from Thora Mountain just didn't understand what was happening. 

_How did things get like this? Last week, if someone I know had been writing a Neopian Times story starring us, I would have been that girl. I would have been the desperately loyal one who wants to get in on the action. And now…I'm the lead character._

Celiath began to pace the hall, looking into her reflection in the many mirrors. A hundred Celiaths walked back and forth in that hall. She looked down, slightly scared by those pairs of eyes asking her if she was doing the right thing and saw yet another Celiath in the mirror charm. Why had Stelakar asked to meet her in the mirror hall anyway? It might have been the only place in the Court both of them knew, but it definitely made Celiath nervous.

Stelakar was eating, but Celiath paced the mirror hall because she was far too nervous to eat. She also thought in the back of her head that she might see something interesting that would help them on their quest. Her twin probably would not have understood this, but it was part of the way Celiath thought. _And what do I expect to see? Yialun weaving his traps for the other advisors? The purple Techo who misguided me? Briata with a warrant for my arrest?_

There was someone coming. Celiath heard the footsteps. She looked up and saw Kierre walking quickly. 

"Celiath!" the starry Shoyru said, hurrying toward her. "Why are you here? The meeting is over, and someone who shouldn't see you probably will. Let's go somewhere safer." 

She led Celiath off through the halls and up a stair. "What happened in the meeting?" Celiath asked.

Kierre sighed. "Do not get me started on the meeting. Absolutely nothing got accomplished, of course. The entire outline of the meeting was the Queen talking about various unimportant civil issues and delicately dancing around Cairhel. Every time one of my allies or I tried to bring up the issue of the Cairhellin or the Yin Kador, Yialun or Thiell always had some new issue, suggested a break, anything to get us from talking about them. And it worked." She rolled her eyes.

"Why was I the one with the noble blood who has to be on this council?" Kierre looked up at the ceiling. "I'm so bad at dealing with all this political intrigue. I can feel the kingdom falling around me and I can't do anything." Celiath opened her mouth, but Kierre continued speaking. "I can't go with you, Celiath. There's nothing I could do for you and Stelakar. I don't have your magic, your weapons, or even a glib tongue."

Celiath thought of Tikanie for a moment. "Perhaps loyalty is enough, in this world." 

Kierre closed her eyes and then opened them again. "You see, Celiath? I'm falling into Yialun's trap. I know I am, and I still can't get out of it. That's why it has to be you and Stelakar. You just got here. You weren't even born in Larkani. The trap can't catch you the way it's caught me." 

_And has the trap Kierre's talking about caught Tikanie? _Celiath asked herself. _I don't think it has. So maybe she has some hope…_

"I have to escape," the Shoyru continued. "The walls of this castle just keep closing in on me. I'm trapped. Trapped in the belief that I can't make a difference, that no matter what I do I can't stop Larkani from falling. Maybe the Yin Kador are the lucky ones. They can still do something, even if they can't set foot on Ral Mirean. Ral Mirean. Who would want to set foot in a place like this?" She closed her eyes and opened them. 

"What's your plan, Celiath?"

She took a deep breath. "First of all, we've already lost surprise. Yialun and I have already been introduced."

Kierre made an exasperated noise. "Why? Stupid courtiers. Continue."

"And he's set up a meeting of sorts. South Tower, sunset. I was waiting for Stelakar. She's eating. I'm far too nervous. She insists on going. There was a rumor that Yialun's leaving Ral Mirean tomorrow. I think it's false, but Stelakar's convinced that it's true. There's someone else who insists on coming with us, a courtier from Thora Mountain. She's the one who introduced me to Yialun." Celiath flicked a stray piece of hair out of her eyes. "And I don't even know what we're going to do once we get there."

She raised her left wrist to her eyes, dangling the ten charms there. Then she rubbed the ten imprints with her other hand, which still hurt almost as much as they had that morning. Why?

Kierre sighed. "What a mess. I wish…No. I have no idea what to wish for, even if there was any hope that it could be granted. I might wish for the wrong thing and get it." 

Celiath held up the empty circle, and Kierre regarded it questioningly. "That's a Yin Kador symbol, isn't it?" she asked. "For what might be. Well, if my wish has any power at all, I wish that Larkani would heal itself somehow."

"Celiath? Where are you?" Stelakar's voice came from the mirror hall. "You said you were going to meet me here, and you wouldn't break something like that. Why…"

"Go," Kierre said to Celiath. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Celiath walked out the door and into the mirror hall. She tried to avoid staring at the hundred Celiaths and walked to Stelakar's side. Now a hundred twins were reflected down both sides of the hall. Stelakar turned around, still engaged in her speech, and saw Celiath. "Hello! I thought that he had gotten you."  
"Not yet," Celiath said. "Are Tikanie or Miraque around?"

Stelakar yawned. "I haven't seen Tikanie, but I've been around Miraque pretty much all day. She's hard to shake. I think she's matched me up with one of the courtiers who lives here. All I know about him is that his house is probably right next door to Thiell's in the local garbage dump. What is it with Tikanie? I definitely don't understand her. She flips just because…Yialun's been taking credit for the game of NeoQuest II?"

"Exactly. Why would he take credit for NeoQuest II? He's trying to get the person behind the notes. In other words, me. I've told you, it's a trap."

"And I've told you, we've got to do it." 

Celiath sighed. There wasn't much of a point arguing with Stelakar. Besides, she was right too. They had to take the risk. "Sunset's coming, I think. We'll have to go soon. And I suppose if we're going to do this we need Tikanie to guide us there."

Kierre's words kept echoing through her head. "_I'm falling into Yialun's trap. I know I am, and I still can't get out of it." That is exactly how I feel. I'm not as apathetic as Kierre…it's Kierre's apathy that inspires me! Kierre, and Riensi, and all those other people who are caught in the trap somehow. _

Another thought occurred to Celiath. Who was Yialun in NeoQuest II? Probably Mostanio. Celiath didn't even need the missing notes for that. There were a few lesser evil characters, like the High Priest and the wizard Cenero, but Yialun had to be Mostanio, the one behind it all. 

More footsteps were coming. Celiath turned her head and spotted Tikanie. "Sorry, Seleika," she said. "I got caught up in something. Hello, Stelakar."

"Something like what?" Stelakar asked. 

"Oh, I was just talking to Miraque. So, we're going to the South Tower?"

Celiath raised her eyebrows. "We sure are. How close are we?"

"Well," Tikanie said, looking around the mirror hall, "the South Tower isn't far away from here, I think. We should get there at about the right time, I think. I'll lead." 

Tikanie started walking through the halls, followed by Stelakar and then Celiath. _Not much I can do now, is there? Do we even have a plan if Yialun actually comes? _Celiath thought back to some of the books and Neopian Times stories she had read. _If it was like a Neopian Times story, I suppose the evil dark faerie would be behind this whole thing. Since it's NeoQuest II…I wish I knew what Irefen said! _

And I don't want to die here.

Celiath was dimly aware of going up a set of stairs. She looked at the charms again. Would any of them be useful in this march toward doom? Celiath hoped that Tikanie didn't know where she was going. If Tikanie didn't know, then it would solve all of Celiath's problems. They would miss the meeting, Stelakar wouldn't be upset with Celiath, and it would throw Yialun off course. _Why can't Stelakar see that Yialun was lying when he said he was going to leave Ral Mirean tomorrow? Except if we don't come, he really will leave Ral Mirean, won't he? _

_ No good can come of any of this. _

She heard a bird chirping outside and pitied the bird for a moment, then shook herself. _Kierre, were you really that confident I wouldn't get caught?_

"Can you keep telling the story?" Tikanie asked, drawing closer to Celiath. "This way."

"Where was I?" Celiath asked, not quite sure. 

Tikanie narrowed her eyebrows. "I don't remember. In the beginning, do you know why she was exiled from Thalemkan?"

Celiath started to answer, then stopped. If she had been writing the story, she would know exactly how it went. "Eldkori explains it pretty well, I think. She was causing trouble for the Duke by trying to get things to change." Then she realized Tikanie didn't know about the beginning part of the story. "Then Rimor explains why the nobles were worried enough to do that. I suppose you could start the story from the middle like Yialun probably did, but you'd be leaving out a whole lot. Like the whole problem with the scroll." 

Tikanie looked confused. "You don't know about the scroll…" Celiath sighed. "I don't think that I really mentioned the scroll in my outline for the story after it's used to summon Rimor. But she finds it on her way to Ginased and has a hard time opening it. First the wizard needs his wand to open it, and she has to take it from an evil Duke. Then she has to find someone at the Temple of Rimor to get it translated for her. After that, she goes to another town for someone who knows what it means, but Nique doesn't trust her and sends her off on another quest."

Stelakar turned around. "Celiath," she said with a sigh. "I might want to play—I mean, read that story sometime. Please don't give it all away."

Celiath immediately responded, "I didn't say anything that…"

Stelakar sighed. "Yes, you did. Tikanie, where do we go now?"

"Up the stairs," Tikanie said. "We're almost there."

Stelakar led then up the staircase that was on the other side of the tower room that they were in now. Through a window, Celiath caught a brief glimpse of the sunset before following Stelakar and Tikanie up the spiral staircase. There were words written in the stair rail, but Celiath could not read what they said. It glittered dimly with blue/gold power, as if the magic that had been used to create the castle was fading. Celiath thought she saw a bit of dark green, too.

_Are the Cairhellin doing that? _Celiath wondered. _Or is it just because the Yin Kador have left Ral Mirean? _

She remembered that Yialun was waiting at the top of the tower, and her limbs froze again. There was no one behind Celiath to tell her to keep going, and they might not notice if she went the other way. _But that's not an option. _She made her feet move and kept following Stelakar and Tikanie. _Stelakar's gotten past her fear; you've got to get past yours. _

And I can't make her do it alone. That's why we're here together. There was a reason why I was summoned. I must have the bravery to save Larkani somewhere in me. 

The stair ended at the top of the tower. Stelakar and Tikanie emerged first. Celiath continued, seeing no signs of danger in the way the other two were acting, and looked around the room. Paintings covered the walls, and Celiath realized that there had been others on the lower walls of the tower. There was no sign of Yialun or anyone else. 

Stelakar positioned herself by the end of the stairs, waiting. Celiath went to examine one of the paintings, this one of a calm-looking Uni sitting on her throne. _Queen Delethia III of House Cantalla_, an inscription read. _1355-1409. _

"Tikanie," Celiath asked, "what's today's date?"

"Hmmm?" the faerie Gelert said. "Oh. It's the fifth of Hantien Luvi, 1479. The Spring Festival's coming soon." 

Celiath narrowed her eyebrows. The date was completely unfamiliar to her. She glanced back at the portrait of Delethia III, who had probably been the queen who made an alliance with Minyarad to defeat Cairhel. There were two other portraits to the right of Delethia's: a tall green Lupe labeled _King Ereming of House Cantalla, 1409-1454_, and then a striped Aisha with a thoughtful look. _Queen Fierrey of House Cantalla, 1455-_. Celiath walked over to the portrait of Queen Fierrey and examined it more closely. Shadows were falling over the picture, making it look more dramatic. The striped Aisha was dressed in blue and gold robes with a large tiara on her head. A brown curl fell in front of her right eye. She was small for an Aisha, Celiath observed. 

Celiath blinked and saw two other figures in the picture: Riensi and Yialun. Magic was filling the picture: red violet sparks came from Riensi's hands, a dark green aura outlined Yialun, and Fierrey extended both her hands to reveal a blue ball in her left hand and a golden one in her right. When she blinked again, the picture was back to normal. Then a thought leaped into Celiath's head: _Did Irefen look like this? _She couldn't remember what Irefen had looked like after her death in NeoQuest II, though.

There was a window right next to the portrait of Fierrey, facing directly south. Celiath looked out it and saw the island of Ista Mirean, a large one, as well as the ocean. _Cairhel is to the south, _she remembered. That kingdom was invisible, but Celiath knew it was there. She turned her head to the right and saw a small slice of the sun sinking into the sea. Celiath blinked her eyes, and the sun was gone, like the sea had swallowed it. 

She turned away from the window. Tikanie looked sleepy, Celiath noticed. _But it's not that late. _Celiath turned her left wrist to see the charms illuminated by the light that was still left in the sky. _Hantien Luvi is the final month of winter. The nights are longer than the days, so it can't be late enough to go to sleep here. _Then another thought popped up as Celiath lowered her hand: _Maybe every single person in this castle is under a spell of some sort. Tikanie shouldn't be sleepy. Stelakar is even more eager for adventure than she usually is. And I don't think I was this cautious before I got here. Then there's Kierre, who says she's fallen into the trap, and is so pessimistic. _

No, it's just your imagination.

Are you sure?

She looked down and noticed that the eye with the turquoise iris was glowing again, like it had the night before. Since it didn't look like anyone would be coming up the stairs anytime soon, Celiath thought about the days. Today was the fifth. That meant she had arrived at Ista Kaderyi on the fourth. And she had spent…two or three days on the boat. So it had been the first of Hantien Luvi when Celiath had arrived.

"Stelakar," she asked, whispering. The Eyrie turned her head. "When did you get to Larkani?"

"Hmmm? Oh…I think it was a couple days ago. I spent a day in the castle before you came."

"So time runs slower here than it does back home," Celiath said. "It's been four days since I got here, but I don't think that a day has passed back there yet."

Stelakar shrugged. "What can I say? This place is just plain weird." She looked at Tikanie, but it appeared that the faerie Gelert was asleep. "And why is she sleeping?"

"I have no idea," Celiath said, putting her head in her hands. "I'll go with the easy explanation of a spell. I'm betting he doesn't want anyone else involved."

Stelakar looked at Tikanie again. "I agree."

Then Celiath thought of something else: _It can't be easy to put everyone in this castle under a spell. In fact, it's probably impossible if you're just one person. So maybe there's more than one Cairhellin agent here. Well, it shouldn't be necessary for everyone in the castle to be spelled. Only the really important ones or the ones who have come into contact with the Cairhellin. They could have a seer like Alianyi. _

Or…it seems that the magic users here have various specialties. Riensi makes things, and Alianyi is a seer. What does Yialun do?

Celiath examined the charms again, ready to use one. The mirror could probably be used as a defense against most magic attacks. The mask…Celiath might be able to disguise herself with it. The raindrop was a symbol for the water element, like Alianyi had said, but Celiath wasn't sure how to use it. She rotated the bracelet and saw the hummingbird. _Speed, Alianyi said. I'll see what that does. And as for the empty circle…_Celiath picked that up. It glowed turquoise for a reason Celiath didn't know. She turned the bracelet to the book and picked that up. 

_It glows with Kierre's wish. And those images you see in it are possibilities of what might be._

She smiled and thought, _Thank you_, before turning back to the empty circle that glowed with the wish. There was an image inside the circle now, of mist, fog, the ocean, and something Celiath vaguely recognized as the castle, still flying the banner of Larkani. 

"The Castle on the Sea!" a strangely accented voice exclaimed. Celiath looked around, but didn't see anyone but her and Stelakar. Glancing back into the empty circle, she saw a Koi in a fishing boat, staring at the castle. "I never thought I'd see it! They say that he who finds the Castle…"

Then Celiath saw a street in a strange city and heard a voice that spoke with Yialun's accent: "They must have been lying when they said the treasure was here. The old books do lie. And this one was written by a Larkan in the year we took over…"

_"…if my wish has any power at all, I wish that Larkani would heal itself somehow…"_ Kierre's wish echoed.

"CELIATH!" 

She looked away from the empty circle and saw two figures, Stelakar and Yialun. Stelakar was struggling to get out of Yialun's grasp, her back to the stair rail that glowed dark green now, her wand useless several flights down the stairs. Celiath's anger at seeing her sister helpless immediately moved her frozen right hand to a charm on the left hand. She didn't even check to see which one it was before she cast her hand forward and opened it. A stream of turquoise light flooded out from her hand. 

Yialun fell back several steps, knocking a portrait of one of the monarchs who had reigned before Delethia III off one of its supports. Celiath used that time to examine the charms and selected the rainbow and the raindrop, pinching them together before releasing them at Yialun. Then she took the hand and sent that in the direction where Stelakar's wand had fallen.

Celiath turned her head to the right to see a dark green aura fading around Yialun. It didn't look like her last attack had affected him. What was his particular gift? Celiath turned her bracelet again. _The book, to find out, and the mirror to defend myself…_She took the charms and looked up for Stelakar. Where was her twin?

_He can read thoughts._

A dark green ball appeared, heading for Celiath. She focused on the ball, dropping the book and holding the mirror out to catch it. If she understood the colors correctly, the dark green would change to her own turquoise and it would bounce back…but the ball kept heading toward her, growing bigger and bigger. Celiath turned her focus to the mirror. Small turquoise flashes began to appear, but they didn't stop the ball. It reached her left hand and engulfed the charm bracelet, then filled her entire field of vision. Celiath blinked a few times, holding on, and looked for the turquoise glimmer of the eye. Something had snuffed it out.


	9. Yialun

Flickers appeared in front of Celiath, but she couldn't figure out what any of them were. A few colors imprinted themselves on her memory: her own turquoise, Stelakar's purple, Riensi's red violet, and Yialun's dark green. There were also two other colors: pink and lilac.

_What…oh. Kimtaya and Elenqui, I think._

The colors disappeared, and she saw Kimtaya and Elenqui in the attic, looking at the book. _I wish I could be there, but I can't, not right now. I can get home with the charm bracelet, but there are other things. Like Stelakar. What happened to her? _

Elenqui looked up from Chapter Twenty-two of the book. "That's it. The next chapter is about…" She flipped a page. "It's called 'Treasure in Larkani,' and it looks like it's about what happened after Larkani fell." Elenqui kept flipping. "Then there's 'Lantaia's Quest' and 'The Founding of Kilinti.'"

"So how do you think this is going to help Celiath and Stelakar?" Kimtaya asked. "Wait a minute. They're here, I know."

Elenqui narrowed her eyebrows, then raised them again. _Stelakar's here too? _Celiath thought. She didn't see her twin. And Stelakar didn't speak, like she probably would have if she had been there. 

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Kimtaya said, going down the stairs. "I don't think Crescent's in the mood to answer the door."

"It's probably reporters," Elenqui said with a yawn.

"I'm getting good at dealing with them. Besides, that's why we have a peephole on our door." Kimtaya left the room. Celiath looked around to see if she could find Stelakar, but didn't. Looking down, she saw that the charm bracelet was gone, but that the markings were still there. _Was the charm bracelet there in my dreams last night? I don't think I was looking for it._

There was another knock on the door. "I'm not a reporter!" Celiath could hear a voice saying. "It's Lilynris. I'm Kia Luan's sister."

She heard the door opening and looked back at Elenqui, who was studying the book. "I dreamed that they were here, so it must be true," the Kougra was saying. "They would probably make their way to Ral Mirean. All roads go through the capital in places like this. I suppose that they would run into this Yialun character. Maybe they're actually looking for him…"

Celiath thought she saw red violet sparks, but they disappeared. She heard Kimtaya's voice. "We're in the attic, trying to figure it out. Elenqui had a dream about it and we're working from there, since her dreams are true."

Then there was a voice she didn't know, probably Lilynris. "Well, I was hoping I could help. I mean, some pretty weird things have happened to me." There was a pause. "Kia Luan's probably told Stelakar, who might have told you. I've been to the past."

"You have?" Kimtaya sounded impressed. Celiath heard their footsteps as they entered the attic. Lilynris was a calm-looking desert Aisha who looked older than she was. 

The Aisha's gaze fell on the book. "That book looks familiar," she said, narrowing her eyes. "Is it _A History of Larkani, Cairhel, and Kilinti_?" Elenqui nodded. "What chapter are you on?"

"The twenty-second," Elenqui said. "Oh, and I'm Elenqui, the youngest of the family and the one with the true dreams." She extended a paw.

"Lilynris n'ri Shirnyn, expert on anything having to do with the past." They shook hands. "I know the time period that's in the end of the book best, since that's where I was. What does that chapter cover?"

"The fall of Larkani," Elenqui said. "There's an odd passage in the end about how their capital city was transformed when the kingdom fell, and how it's spoken about in the legends of the people who lived there later. I think Celiath and Stelakar might be involved with that."

"They might be trying to save the kingdom," Lilynris mused. "I'll make sure that when they get back, they know that Larkani had to fall. When _you_ get back," she said, looking up slightly. "I can see them here. They're dreaming."

"Dreaming?" Kimtaya looked puzzled. "It's afternoon."

"Time runs differently when you're in other places." Lilynris paused for a moment. "Generally it runs faster when you go to the past and slower when you go to the future. Several days might have passed for Celiath and Stelakar."

"Hi, Lilynris," Celiath heard Stelakar's voice say. She looked around for the voice and located her twin standing near one of the bookshelves opposite her. 

"Stelakar."

"How did you get here?" Celiath asked. "How did I get here?"

Lilynris had a thoughtful look on her face. "I don't know. Technically, neither one of you have true dreams…maybe those markings on your hand are doing it for you, Celiath. Or maybe it's just being in Larkani."

"The dreams probably are true," Elenqui said, looking up from the book. "They just won't remember them."

Celiath looked at Elenqui for a moment, then at Lilynris's eyes. It looked like the Aisha was gazing at something…else. She had one eye on Celiath and the other on where Stelakar probably was, and she looked like she was trying to hold on against something. Celiath caught a glimpse of another color around Lilynris, a silvery color that contained momentary flashes of several other colors. _Maybe that's her magic. What does she see?_

Lilynris blinked and looked away. The strange silver color disappeared. "Celiath, Stelakar," she spoke quickly. "I saw you, and I think I understand. You're in Ral Mirean, the capital. You're both being carried through the castle. There were two other people with you: a red Lenny and a purple Techo."

"That rascal," Celiath muttered. "I knew he was working for Yialun." 

__

"I got a little snatch of conversation," Lilynris continued. "The Techo proposed that they turn you over to the Queen, because you're under arrest, Celiath, and…you're _Luryans_? Where do they get…what's your last name?"

"Mianre'll."

"Oh. I see."

"Well, I don't," Stelakar said. "What does our last name have to do with anything?"

Lilynris put her head on the back of her hand. "Celiath, you've been there longer than Stelakar. Have you noticed that everyone's last name kind of…sounds the same?"

"They all have 'la' on the end," Celiath responded. It had taken her a while to work it out, but she had eventually gotten it.

"Different kingdoms have different markings like that, and your name has the Luryan marking. Anyway, the Lenny said that they wouldn't be able to gain your confidence if you were behind bars. You're to be treated well. Stelakar, you're flickering. You're probably about to wake up." Lilynris looked around. "If you don't remember what happened here, you will when you see where you are. And…she woke up."

"So she won't be able to come back here," Elenqui said. "I think I might have gotten something out of the book."

Celiath saw Kimtaya go over to the book and Lilynris move over to her. "Celiath…" she said. "When you wake up, your charms are going to be gone. Don't panic. You've been wearing the bracelet long enough that you don't need it anymore, and you also have the help of the marks. You're from here and not there, so maybe that'll make it easier to trust in what might be. Wishes are more powerful than you might think. And one of the charms has the power to help you defend yourself. You should probably remember this when you see the markings on your wrist. One other thing before you wake up: You don't have to save the kingdom. It's gone past that. Just take care of Yialun."

"NeoQuest II…?" Celiath started to ask.

"It's already happened, Celiath. It's in…"

Celiath opened her eyes to darkness. No…it was a room of some sort. Probably somewhere in the castle. _Where's this? I remember surprising Yialun in the South Tower, and then I got here. No. I was dreaming. Kimtaya, Elenqui, and Lilynris. Who's Lilynris?_

She looked around the room, where a few shapes were starting to appear. Stelakar looked like she was sleeping. _The eye still isn't shining._

Then Celiath remembered that Lilynris had been to the past and had said a few things that had sounded helpful. As she rubbed her wrist, words came into her head: _You've been wearing the bracelet long enough that you don't need it anymore. If that's true, I should be able to do a light, like the eye. _Celiath closed her eyes again and imagined the eye shining into the water the night before when she had come to Ral Mirean, the reflection of the turquoise light in the ocean…

She opened her eyes and saw the entire room bathed in the peculiar light. Even though it made Celiath think she was underwater, she preferred it to the darkness. She was sitting in a large, comfortable chair, and Stelakar slept in another chair next to hers. Celiath couldn't make out colors very well, but noticed several different ones on the walls. There was also something that looked like a map hanging on the wall opposite her. It certainly wasn't a dungeon, but Celiath remembered something else from her dream and wasn't very surprised.

Nervous, she scratched the marks on her left wrist, and startled at the realization that there was no charm bracelet. _Well, of course not. If your enemy is unconscious, the smart thing to do is to disarm the person. And it happened to me. _

Something rustled, and Celiath looked up and then in the direction of the noise. Stelakar sat up. "Faeries, it looks weird in here…Celiath!" She sounded surprised. "What happened to your eyes? They're…_glowing_."

"They are?" Celiath raised her eyebrows. "Do you remember your second dream?"

Stelakar made an odd face. "It was a weird dream. Riensi, Yialun, and Lilynris were all there." She shook her head. "I don't really remember what they were saying; I'm not Elenqui. Celiath, you are really creeping me out."

"I'll drop it in a little while," she said. "I'm just going to find out where the door is." Celiath stood up and looked around the room for a door. There was the map of Larkani, so the door probably wasn't there. She turned her head and saw a part of the wall creeping in…

It was the door, being opened very slowly. Celiath closed her eyes. If they were glowing like Stelakar said, she didn't want other people to see. _Stop. _The eye didn't light up during the day, did it? _Only during times of danger. Well, I'll be okay, and I can see._

Celiath opened her eyes again and blinked several times, getting used to the darkness again. The person entering the room seemed to be familiar enough with it to know where everything was. As she made out most of the things in the room and returned to her old seat, the figure struck a match and lit a candle, illuminating the doorway. He immediately moved into the darkness and lit a second candle near an empty chair, a third near Stelakar, and a fourth near Celiath before sitting in the empty chair. The door swung open again to reveal the purple Techo standing there with someone else that Celiath could not see.

"Excuse me?" the Techo said diffidently. The figure, which Celiath had recognized as Yialun, turned his head. "There's someone here who would like to speak to you concerning her daughter, Tikanie Kirmila." 

"Tell her I'll be there in just a minute," Yialun said, his eyes half closed. 

There was another voice: "…my daughter was found unconscious in the South Tower, and the first thing she said to me was that it was all because of you! I want answers, and I want them now!"

"Would that happen to be the crazed noblewoman you ran into?" Stelakar whispered.

"I believe that it is." Celiath coughed and looked down at her wrist. "Oh. Right." _Should I do something in case she sees me? No, he'll notice. _Then another possibility jumped into her head: _He can read thoughts! He's already noticed! Crescent…no. Riensi, why did your stupid key choose me? _

"I am doing some very important business—"  
"Oh, before dawn? I don't think so!" Briata poked her head in through the door, pushing past the Techo. "Tikanie said that you had stolen property from a new friend of hers and…" She saw Celiath, who simply stared at Briata for a moment before the Shoyru broke away and glared at Yialun. "Arrest her!" 

"What has she done?"

"In the name of the Queen, I declare that this Celiath Mianre'll has committed treason—"

"Treason?" Yialun looked like he was about to laugh. "She is plainly not Larkan. She has committed no treason against Queen Fierrey. Stay where you are," he added, turning to Stelakar.

"The Yin Kador have been exiled from Ral Mirean! She has broken the law!" Briata's voice was getting steadily louder.

"But she is not Yin Kador. She has broken none of our laws."

"Then why is she in your rooms before dawn?" Briata thundered.

There was silence for a moment. Then Yialun countered, "I told you I am doing some very important business. More important than the business you are doing."

"This is a matter of the safety of my daughter!" 

"No. This is a matter of the safety of Larkani that you are disturbing."

"The Luryan is a danger to the safety of Larkani and should be taken into the Queen's hands immediately!" Briata stamped her foot.

"Actually," Stelakar said with a smirk on her face, "I think I know who the dangers to Larkani are in this room. Everyone but my sister and me. We're trying to save this kingdom, and you're all too stupid to see what's happening!" She turned to Yialun and clacked her beak. "Except for you."

At the same time, Briata screamed, "What did you do with my daughter? Did you convince her to run away? You were all involved in it! You were—" Briata stopped for a breath and fainted.

Celiath raised her eyebrows in surprise and blinked her eyes a few times. She thought she saw fading light when she blinked but wasn't sure. _Whoa. At least she's not going to go put me in the dungeon. _She turned her head to Stelakar, who was laughing quietly, and then to Yialun for a second before darting away. _But I think that what's coming might be worse. _

"Take her to the healers," Yialun said to the Techo. "You know the drill."

"Yes, sir." He picked up Briata and dragged her out of the room, closing the door behind him. 

After the door closed, the three of them still did not move. Celiath and Stelakar both stared at Yialun, and Yialun switched his focus between them, blinking rapidly. Someone would have to break the silence, but Celiath didn't want to do it. 

"What?" Stelakar asked. 

Yialun raised his eyebrows. "Hmmm?"

"I said—" Stelakar began, one eye narrowed and the other opened especially wide. 

"You said that you know who the dangers to Larkani are, but you got it wrong. _You_ are the dangers to Larkani. Both of you."

Stelakar narrowed her left eye even further. "What?" she repeated. 

"You don't know what you're doing with the powers Riensi gave you. They're too much for you to handle. Especially yours," he said, turning to Celiath. "It's very dangerous to trust anyone with what might be, even Yin Kador or enchanters. In the hands of someone who isn't powerful enough to handle them, like a dreamer, an elemental, or a healer…disastrous." 

Was there a tiny smile on Yialun's face? It wasn't there anymore. Part of Celiath asked, _What was Riensi thinking? Stelakar knew…it's only an illusion. An illusion! _From that, Celiath saw the second charm, the mask, and closed her eyes for a moment. She didn't think about what she had done or whether it would work. At the same time, she dropped the illusion on Stelakar and smiled to see her twin looking perfectly normal. 

"What…" Yialun stared at Stelakar, who stared at Celiath. Celiath didn't respond, but only took a few deep breaths. It felt like she had gone up to Faerieland without popping her ears. In fact, she felt like she was trapped in a bubble. _Good. That should shield my thoughts. _

"Riensi's work," Yialun said slowly. "Illusions are hard to maintain. He would want to disguise you, so that you would fit in for long enough that the powers you carried with you would fly out of your control and destroy us. I am very glad that we came across each other yesterday, Celiath, Stelakar." 

_What if…_"My name is—" Celiath began.

"You are Celiath Mianre'll."

"But I prefer to be called Seleika," Celiath said quickly.

"All right then." He looked Celiath in the eyes again.

"So what are you doing here? I'm not really understanding this," Stelakar said. "I haven't understood anything about what's been going on since I got here."

"Again, a good thing we came across each other."

"Why?"

"I already told you. The magic that both of you carried would destroy you, in time." He switched his gaze to Celiath. "I fear that you have already absorbed the powers that Riensi gave you. Keeping something like the charm bracelet you carried that close to you…any magic object will leave its mark on you even after mere hours. I expect he told you to look for me, so that hopefully I would be destroyed along with the rest of Ral Mirean. Then, with the destruction of Ral Mirean, Larkani would collapse."

"That doesn't make sense," Stelakar broke in. "Why would Riensi turn on his own? I got the impression that he cared about Queen Fierrey and the kingdom of Larkani. Why go to the trouble of snatching two people from…Lurya, like us, if he didn't?" Stelakar growled quietly as she realized her logic was useless.

Yialun shrugged. "Perhaps he was hunting for the legendary treasure too. Treasure can drive many mad."

"What is this treasure that everybody wants? The Cairhellin say that it's in Larkani, the Larkans have no idea where it is or what it is, or if it even exists. And what's your take on all this?" 

_Stelakar, _Celiath thought, _he might have actually answered the question about the treasure if you hadn't asked a second question. But maybe it's better this way._

"I am from Gisend," Yialun began. Celiath stared him in the eye, searching for signs that he was lying, but couldn't find them. _He's probably been telling this story for months. And Gisend's near the border, so it's close enough. Or maybe he actually is Larkan. _"Living near the borders of all three countries, I experienced the tension building among Larkani, Cairhel, and Minyarad. When I learned my gift for magic, my parents sent me to study in Chalidor, the capital of Cairhel."

"Why not with the Yin Kador?"

"A lot of people in the area of Gisend are part Larkan and part Cairhellin. And most of us don't trust the Yin Kador. They were greatly involved in the earlier war between the two kingdoms, and the common Cairhellin opinion is that the Yin Kador started the war. In any case, after learning the use of my gift, I returned to Larkani to inherit my title as Duke of Gisend. And a few months ago, the Queen summoned me to Ral Mirean for my advice about Cairhel. The people in the Court soon gave me all the information I needed about Riensi and the Yin Kador. It is true that they want Larkani for themselves so that they can find the treasure. I simply helped the Queen see this, so that I could try to rescue Larkani from the mire it was falling into."

_This makes no sense, _Celiath thought. _So Riensi and Yialun pretty much cancel each other out, I suppose. Then there's Kierre. And what does NeoQuest II have to say about this?_

Stelakar had narrowed her eyes at Yialun, obviously trying to make out something about what was going on. "These spellcasters," the Eyrie muttered. "You can't make any sense out of a single thing they say." Celiath saw purple light stirring some of the objects in the room. "So we've heard the Larkans. We've heard the Cairhellin. What do we do about it?" 

_"…destroyed Lemirka—_Larkani_--and will destroy Caeridyl—_Cairhel_," Rimor had said…_

"Use your knowledge of both sides to help the kingdom in whichever way you choose." Yialun rose to exit the room. 

_…glows with a wish…that Larkani would heal itself somehow…the fate of two kingdoms is at stake…you don't need the bracelet anymore…it's gone past that. Just take care of Yialun…_

Celiath let her eyes flick to her wrist, and she imagined the silver bracelet there. _Charm six. Summoning. Everything that belongs to us. _The entire room suddenly flared purple, and Celiath sensed a locking. Nothing could leave this room by ordinary means. Stelakar had made sure to cover all the doors and any possible trapdoors. 

"Thanks," she whispered to Stelakar.

The Eyrie responded: "Whose side are we on? I'm not sure which way to go."

"Larkani. Stelakar, catch!"

The wand appeared in her right paw, and the charm bracelet appeared around Celiath's left wrist. The pack that Celiath had carried from Thora Mountain appeared next to her on the couch, with the final two pages of NeoQuest II notes on top of it. Celiath read the last thing she had taken down, about Irefen, as she put the notes in the pack again. 

Yialun turned away from the door and glared at Celiath and Stelakar. Stelakar innocently met his gaze for a moment before pointing the wand, but Celiath immediately dropped her eyes to the charms. She saw a bolt of purple lightning out of her right eye as she took the circle in her right hand. _"…I wish that Larkani would heal itself somehow!" _Celiath screamed in her mind as she lifted the circle so that the image in it, of the castle flying the Larkan banner, was visible to Yialun. 

Turquoise light sparkled out from the charm and from Celiath. She felt the power burning all through her, using everything she had to mold that vision of what might be. Celiath tried to drop the shield on her thoughts, but found there wasn't anything else she could do. The rainbow Zafara, who now appeared mostly as a Zafara-shaped rage of turquoise, took a deep breath. "Stelakar!" she cried as she fumbled for the charms both on her hand and in her mind. "Take our things…drop the…locking…" 

"Celiath! What's happening?"

"Do it!" Celiath forced out in a croak. She moved her paw to try to find the key charm that would take them home, but could only see turquoise. Closing her eyes, Celiath still saw nothing but the color of her magic. She imagined the charm bracelet again, the silver key on it. _We need to go home._

"Stelakar!…Take the charm…the key…it's the way…" Celiath's voice gave out. She felt separated from her body, the light of magic burning everything she had. With her last bit of energy, Celiath tried to open her eyes again and saw a brief glimpse of turquoise before that was gone too…


	10. Epilogue: The Way Back

Riensi stood on one of the towers of his castle, looking south at Ral Mirean. Suddenly, he felt something shuddering, saw the entire island flicker with turquoise, so brightly that he could not look at it…

The spotted Aisha lowered his eyes and blinked a few times. The afterimage of the castle remained behind his eyelids. _I suppose that's what I asked for when I brought them here._

The King of Cairhel and his advisors sat around the table in his palace. "There has been no word from Yialun. Ral Mirean has been destroyed," Lady Hariele said. "Every enchanter in the world must have noticed." 

The King stared at the commander of his army. "Prepare the forces to march into Larkani."

The storm of light, turquoise and purple, sucked Stelakar down a whirlwind. But Celiath kept floating in the light, a rainbow-colored outline of her body the only thing remaining of her.

Elsunor was in a classroom of sorts, with many other children there, listening to the priest who was teaching them describe the great works of magic. "An example of one of these works is the transformation of Ral Mirean, which was once the capital of Larkani. Some call the healer who did this Celiath Mianre'll, others call her Seleika Laitenla."

"A healer?" one of the students asked. "How is that possible?"

"We don't know," the teacher continued. "The work certainly killed her."

"Where is the confounded treasure?"

"Nobody knows. Does it even exist? Is it just another Larkan fancy?"

There was a city on the north bank of a river, near the coast where Ista Mirean had been and where they said the Castle on the Sea was. Blue-green banners on the city walls blew in the wind, and each of them had a silver castle in the center. 

"Long live Lantaia, Queen of Kilinti!" 

A Kacheek in Thoramtiye was reading a story to her children: "No one knows where the Castle on the Sea is, but they say that if you set your eyes on it, you enter the world of the Castle…"

"There is no Castle on the Sea. It's just a faerie tale."

"You mean you gave up the Mystic's Star to those thieves? Cairhellin…" The Queen of Kilinti sighed. "We wouldn't have given up our Treasure."

"You don't even have a Treasure! After your kingdom fell, we searched the kingdom for it!" the Mystic of Cairhel yelled back.

"No Cairhellin could set hands on a Kilint treasure, just as I could not hope to use the powers of the Mystic's Star! Have you no common sense? Do you not even know what the Treasures are?" 

The city was called Thiermont, and no one in Neopia knew where it was. No one in Neopia had heard of the Kalin Plain where it was located, either. It had a few Neopian characteristics, but mostly maintained the qualities of the land that had come before it, Kilinti. The Treasure of Kilinti was there too, and the people who believed in the ancient legends thought that the Castle on the Sea might be nearby. But not far away was the large country of Neopia, where the Castle did not exist at all…

"Oh, thank the Faerie Queen!" Crescent sighed as Stelakar opened her eyes. "You're back!"

Stelakar looked around her and identified her location as the Healing Springs. Several trained healers and three of the seven students were there by Stelakar's side. Crescent, Kimtaya, Elenqui, and Lilynris were also there. 

"I am. It's Neopia."

One of the students gave Stelakar something. "Drink this," he said. "It'll help you recover."

Stelakar took a deep breath and drank down the cool liquid. Her eyes closed as if she was about to sleep, and then they popped open again. "Where's Celiath?" 

The jubilation at seeing Stelakar conscious fell off all their faces. Looking at them, Stelakar remembered the last time she had seen Celiath. But it hadn't been Celiath anymore. The turquoise light had burned her away. "Is she alive?" Stelakar asked, her voice sounding like someone else had spoken the words. As she spoke, Stelakar knew the answer. 

Lilynris set her head in her hands. "I killed her. Stelakar…I was trying to help her after you woke up, and I told Celiath to trust in the powers of what might be. The future is too heavy a weight to carry, even when it is already known. I didn't know that." 

"Then why are the Water Faerie and the other three students there?" Stelakar asked. "There must be some hope that she's alive. There must be…" The Eyrie fell asleep as the drugs took effect. 

The turquoise had faded away, to be replaced with an even brighter white light that should have blinded Celiath. Maybe it already had. "_Where am I now?"_ Celiath asked. "_And what happened? Yialun was gone. Stelakar…and what happened to me?"_

Someone was holding her charm bracelet. Celiath reached for it and undid the clasp. "_Wherever this is, I don't need it anymore. You can have it."_

Then, Celiath noticed another figure in the blinding light take the bracelet and put it around her hand again. As it did, the clasp disappeared. _"You do need it, Celiath."_ The figure turned the bracelet to the raindrop charm and touched it. Celiath saw the white light flare inside that charm. _"You need the charms more than ever now. The charm that represents life now contains your spirit inside it. You have to keep a hold of it in order to remain in the land of the living."_ It turned the bracelet past the key and pinched it to create a new charm: a crescent moon with four hoops dangling from it. _"The sign of your family." _Then it put a silver necklace around her neck, and the clasp on that disappeared as well. It showed Celiath the castle that hung from the necklace.

_"Where is this? And who are you?" _Something sunk in. _"You mean I'm…dead?"_

The figure put a hand on her shoulder, and Celiath felt some of her strength that the magic had sapped coming back to her. _"I made a mistake. You should be dead by the amount of magic that you used, but I cannot allow it. I need your help, so I made the deal that you will stay alive as long as you wear the bracelet. You created the Castle on the Sea; you have to help guard it." _

"What do you mean…"

"She's alive!" 

Celiath weakly opened one eye and looked around the room. It was the Healing Springs, and everyone was there: the Water Faerie, the other healers, and the other six students. Most importantly, Crescent, Kimtaya, and Elenqui were there, and Stelakar slept in the bed next to her. Celiath also saw Lilynris there before her eyes closed and she fell asleep. 

A thought hovered in her mind: _Back in Neopia…but it will never be the same…_

****

Author's Note: Well, it's been really great writing this! In fact, I think this piece was my favorite that I've ever written. I'm planning a sequel, _Ripping Veils_, that focuses on Kimtaya Mianre'll. It'll be in two versions: one in Neopia and one that's completely in my world. The one in Neopia will be more like an outline, and then I'll write the one in my world which will be a lot more detailed. My current piece, _Wings of Wishes_, focuses on a different character. I don't know where it'll go, and it's a good thing. 

There's one thing I'vereally learned from this story: not to plan too much. I would plan in my spare time because I loved the writing so much, but the characters just ran off and did their own things, and I don't think this story would have been as good if I hadn't let that happen. 

Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it!

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